Los Angeles Clippers best record in the NBA! Contenders or Pretenders?

[Dee-Zy]

I think that their biggest weakness is CP3. In the sense that if you cut off the head of the snake, Clips are a first round exit team. The key for every teams will be to **** with Chris. They have nobody that can pick up the slack. Jamal Crawford can create for himself but they don't have that No 2 to really bail them out consistently. BG can't create his own shot consistently and Caron doesn't look like the all star he used to be. The clips are looking good right now in the season and I am very happy for them. Once they hit the playoffs, they are going to need that second punch or they are ****ed. I could see them getting upset.

[Jamel Irief]

Originally Posted by Ron

Look at my signature. Of course its exciting.

And guess what? The Clippers have exactly what it takes to win it all this year. They may have been a perennial loser in years past, but that has nothing to do with what is happening this year, right now.

I was around for Showtime, but I was hardly a hoops junkie back then, let alone a fan. My first exposure as a hardcore Laker fan was to Sedale Threat as our leading scorer... and the Clippers were actually better than the Lakers that season.

I remember how jacked I was when Ced was named an all-star in 95. We finally had an all-star! Of course Deke broke his hand and he didn't play, and then next year no Lakers were voted in.

When the Lakers were down by 15 in the 4th quarter to the Blazers in 2000 I was crying.... and I was a 21 year old man at the time.

So I do remember a little about how it was like.

[E.H. Munro]

Originally Posted by Dee-Zy

I think that their biggest weakness is CP3. In the sense that if you cut off the head of the snake, Clips are a first round exit team. The key for every teams will be to **** with Chris. They have nobody that can pick up the slack. Jamal Crawford can create for himself but they don't have that No 2 to really bail them out consistently. BG can't create his own shot consistently and Caron doesn't look like the all star he used to be. The clips are looking good right now in the season and I am very happy for them. Once they hit the playoffs, they are going to need that second punch or they are ****ed. I could see them getting upset.

I wrote the following on another board, I guess it's as appropriate here...

I guess I'm going to have to be the turd in the punchbowl in this Clippers Skepticon. I'll argue that the Clippers are the only squad whose bench is going to have an immense impact on the playoffs. Because no team in the playoffs is going to arrive fresher and more rested than the Clippers.

Their bench mob is so deep and so good that the Clippers will be able to protect CP3, Chauncey, Grant Hill and Caron Butler all year (and I'm only singling out these four due to age/injury histories). Every other team, including the Thunder, are going to need to ride their starters hard into the postseason.

Once they reach the playoffs the bench is going to be shortened to 3-4 guys, Odom at the 4/5, Crawford at the 2/3, Bledsoe at the 1/2 and then either Hill or Barnes playing some SF when the occasion arises (Hill unless injury intervenes). And Bledsoe changes everything.

Ask a Grizzly fan why they got plowed by LA last year and they'll tell you it was because they were forced to run Conley into the ground, because no one else could get the ball over halfcourt against Bledsoe. Look at what Bledsoe did to Rondo last night. He might be the only guard in the NBA better than Avery Bradley pressuring the ball. I'll guarantee you that Memphis and that other LA team, the what's-their-names, want no part of the Clippers in the playoffs. And given that the Thunder are, for the moment, inherently relying on a player who's made of glass to help them carry the day, and I wouldn't want to be betting against the Clippers.

Will they need to play halfcourt offense? Sure. But they have the most complete point guard in the NBA to run it. I mean Boston won one title and nearly two with one of the worst halfcourt PGs in basketball (to the extent that the Lakers didn't even bother defending him). I think the Clippers can manage the feat with CP3.

I mean, sure, the Lakers could try gooning it up and have Artest perform an open court tackle on CP3, but what happens when the Clippers retaliate by having Hollins due the same to Nash, Gasol or Howard? Mutually assured destruction. So they're going to do their best to keep Ronnie Postal in check. As of today they have the same monster advantage that the 2008 Celtics had, namely that they're expending very little effort in obliterating people. So when the games really do matter, they're going to have a whole lot more energy than the other guys.

[RollWithEm]

The same exact things being said about the Clipper bench protecting their old starters/role players can be said with even more emphasis about the Spurs.

[LobCity]

Clippers are going to win it all this season

[Dynasty Raider]

Originally Posted by LobCity

Clippers are going to win it all this season

Welcome!

Seeing this is your first post here ... I'm going to share the excitement I feel today. I live in Laker Country and this morning I saw parked outside my window, a black Lexus with two CLIPPER flags and a Clipper throw on the dashboard. That made me so excited because rarely to you see Clipper flags around here.

Wish I had been close enough to talk Clippers with him.

Again, welcome.

[TucsonClip]

Originally Posted by Ron

I was one of VDN's biggest critics last season but apparently this guy is doing everything right for the players and they have all bought into his defensive schemes as well.

So kudos also to VDN.

I am far from a VDN fan, but even I have to admit he has done a great job.

Last season he tried to manage the games, something he is not good at, and run sets that CP3 and Billups scoffed at.

This season he has adapted and begun to exploit his player's/unit's strengths. CP3 controls the first unit and forces them to execute in the half-court and be responsible on defense. The second unit is like a horse down the home-stretch. VDN has learned to let off the reigns and allow Bledsoe and Crawford to attack defenses into oblivion and allow the other 3 (Odom, Barnes and Turiaf) to help Bledsoe lockdown the opposing team's second unit.

[TucsonClip]

Originally Posted by Dee-Zy

I think that their biggest weakness is CP3. In the sense that if you cut off the head of the snake, Clips are a first round exit team. The key for every teams will be to **** with Chris. They have nobody that can pick up the slack. Jamal Crawford can create for himself but they don't have that No 2 to really bail them out consistently. BG can't create his own shot consistently and Caron doesn't look like the all star he used to be. The clips are looking good right now in the season and I am very happy for them. Once they hit the playoffs, they are going to need that second punch or they are ****ed. I could see them getting upset.

I disagree here for one major reason. The Clippers, like the Spurs, have a counter to every defense.

If you want to pressure CP3, which is the most effective way to attack the Clippers on D, Bledsoe and Crawford will be inserted to attack a reduced defense. Lets not forget that Billups is fully capable of running the pick-and-roll with Griffin and Jordan as well.

Furthermore, Blake's post game has improved. While I do not think he is a second go-to player in the playoffs, he is clearly much more capable than last season.

Finally, the bench... The bench mob is just unreal. Crawford, Odom and Barnes are all top 10 in +/- this season. Not to mention the reason why the Clippers are top 5 on defense is partially due to their bench. Their ability to jump out in passing lanes and then have the flexibility to matchup with Bledsoe, Barnes and Turiaf, on each level is second to none.

Yes, they will have problems in the half-court at times this postseason. However, their efficiency and ability to create turnovers or convert bad shots into dunks will help overcome that.

I'll say it again though. Rebounding is the Achillies heel here. If the Clippers get into a half-court battle and are unable to control the boards, which has been their problem the past two years, that is where they begin to crumble.

[TucsonClip]

Originally Posted by RollWithEm

The same exact things being said about the Clipper bench protecting their old starters/role players can be said with even more emphasis about the Spurs.

Completely agree. These are the two most effective benches in the league. They are also the two highest scoring.

[Jamel Irief]

Originally Posted by TucsonClip

Completely agree. These are the two most effective benches in the league. They are also the two highest scoring.

That might change when the Nuggets get Chandler back. Miller, Brewer, Chandler and McGee should outscore one of the two.

[NOFX22]

The difference our bench is better defensively, more dynamic and versatile

[RollWithEm]

Originally Posted by LobCity

Clippers are going to win it all this season

Makes you wonder if this guy just went to every basketball forum on the internet and posted this.

[Jamel Irief]

Originally Posted by RollWithEm

Makes you wonder if this guy just went to every basketball forum on the internet and posted this.

Bunch of old Clipper fans coming out the woodwork now too. I'm pretty sure Dynasty Raider stopped rooting for the Clippers to cheer for Kobe until maybe two months ago. The heat got a bunch of posters back when Bosh and Lebron signed too.

[Adam]

Originally Posted by Jamel Irief

Bunch of old Clipper fans coming out the woodwork now too. I'm pretty sure Dynasty Raider stopped rooting for the Clippers to cheer for Kobe until maybe two months ago. The heat got a bunch of posters back when Bosh and Lebron signed too.

We actually lost posters.

[TucsonClip]

Nobody to talk Clippers with on here anymore. I left for semi-greener pastures.

No college hoops discussion either...