clippers are playing great right and i'd be lying if i said they don't scare me. especially with ibaka there now. but the question will be if PG can keep up this kind of play in the postseason i really don't know what to make of the nets because of how awful they are on defense. but yeah, funny that the league had no problem with those 3 teaming up but god forbid the lakers trading for cp3
Lakers got a bit lucky is that they didn't have to face a team with 2 big wings in the playoffs. That remains the concern as the Clips, Boston, 76ers, and Nets each have two guys who are big, athletic, and skilled offensively. The Lakers have a great guard rotation right now but both Caruso and KCP don't have the size to take on the bigger 2's and 3's consistently. A lot depends on Kuzma, dude is doing all the little things but he's got to show enough to have Vogel's trust to finish games and right now he's just too inconsistent. He seems like he's getting (his rebounding, weakside blocks, and passing have improved quite a bit) but you can't trust at this point he's going to bring the whole package.
I’ve been pulling this shtick for like 20-some years and it works almost every year, just let me work my magic. Nets 2021 champions!
Ibaka adds a lot to them, so does Batum. And they have the better Morris brother. We need Trez to figure out a way to use his length and athleticism to defend the perimeter and rim better. Even marginal improvement on his D would be huge is a series against the Clips. We can handle guard play - Houston last year, Portland, GS. Wings have been an issue for a while - Giannis, KD, Kawhi, Butler. Evident in our recent games against Philly and Boston. Clips also - first game of season. Ring night. But still. I liked how the Nets went after PG and KL last night. The old Battier hand over the eyes and throw different defenders at them every few possessions. AD on KL and Bron and PG works to close. But switches are a problem - see Alex on Harris.
He also said Kief was the only reason things didn't get physical with the Clipps in the bubble. Didn't specify whether he meant indirectly or directly. Guess having a brother on each team to play peacemaker kept things civil.
A lot more has to go right for the Clips to win than it does the Lakers. No point even discussing it until they stop clippin’ and get past the 2nd round.
yeah i'm really liking harrell (aside from his defense) but ibaka would've been such a great fit for this team. oh well
No way Paulina can shoot close to 50% from the 3 point line for the entire season and in the playoffs... but if he can, they'll be a trouble. Fun season ahead
i've never been as big a fan of ibaka as, well, the rest of the world. i think he was never a good defender and has become exploitable on that end. offensively, he's basically a standing three or nothing. he's a very good fit for them in that their whole scheme is let one of three guys dribble and shoot and everyone else stands around. i disagree that he'd have been a better fit here than the two we have, who are basically equal or better advanced-stats wise to ibaka. add in that we took harrell away from them as a potential trade asset, and that was some serious art of war s***, imo. anyway, the clips will go as far as kawhi can take them in the playoffs. if he's fully healthy and on his game, that might mean a title. but that's a long way off on those calcifying legs. finally, dudley's "book" is pretty dumb, from what i've seen. i agree with his critics that nobody needs to hear him barking about the clippers or paul george. if lebron wants to, fine. but he called PG a non-winner while claiming AD was--this was prior to the title last year. and i'm a huge AD fan (and dislike PG), but there wasn't a ton of support for the AD-as-winner argument vs. the PG-as-winner argument prior to that point, right? AD was clearly the better player, but neither had won a title and both had been on middling teams for much of their early careers. i agree that the clippers' bravado last year was annoying, and i think they've learned their lesson from that (beverly aside, who's never learned anything). they're our biggest threat in the west (not buying utah, never bought denver), and could legitimately beat us. but unlike last year, i'd probably have us favored assuming both teams are at full strength.
yeah, now the clippers have bulletin board material to motivate them just like the lakers did last season and i don't get why dudley gave beverley an exception for talking smack when he hasn't won anything either
right. his arguments weren't logically consistent, and all he did was create a rivalry where none really exists. they need to beat us in the playoffs for that to happen. don't give them equal billing by spending time yapping about them in response to stuff that happened a year ago or more. i think the billboard stuff is fair game, as is all their stupid branding. but going after george was a mistake, imo. again, not that i like george.
this is do or die for the clipps now... they got rid of doc, made roster improvements, and are on a mission to redeem themselves after epically choking to Denver in the playoffs... theyre like a cornered animal, which is likely to strike with nowhere else to run... by no means am i saying they are to be feared -- more so that they seem to have a sharper focus on winning instead of trolling and being overhyped like last year... couple that with the fact that we have a giant bullseye on our back after bringing another championship home (on top of the usual anti-Laker hatred)... we'll see how it all shakes out as the season progresses...
right. i think they learned from last year that all the chest-beating because of a good off-season was pretty ridiculous. they're probably a better team this year, and they're going to be focused on proving it. they reminded me of the first year of the heatles last year--they thought a title was just going to fall in their laps. so yeah, i think they're a better, more serious team this year. but we're better, too. by a good sight, imo.
My thoughts exactly. It would be better if/when we beat them at their best. There would be no excuses at that point. Then they can just move back to San Diego and let us run LA.
