Comments on: Clippers 2022 Season Exit Interview: Ivica Zubac

By: mlslaw1

mlslaw1 — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 21:50:38 +0000

With the clips not in it, there's virtually no stress in watching b ball rn for me. All I want is competitive games and clutch, dramatic plays. And, there's a certain beauty in that. Blowouts are boring, much like a golf tourney with a runaway leader.

By: mlslaw1

mlslaw1 — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 21:45:59 +0000

Prefer being near the top in rebounding...

By: lying dog-faced pony soldier

lying dog-faced pony soldier — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 21:20:39 +0000

Has anyone else enjoyed the playoffs as much as I have? Everyone “fans” in different ways and I like several teams in various sports, NBA, MLB, NFL. I have several favorite players in PGA golf. Clippers are easily my top NBA team but the Celtics are second. I just find that having more than one favored sport/team/player keeps things interesting.

By: osamu6238

osamu6238 — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 12:06:25 +0000

My take away from these playoffs is actually that you need a team that is very versatile and have players that can challenge bigs, but also be versatile defensively. Sure going “smaller” is probably still the trend, but I feel like the ideal scenario is having a mobile big who is still big enough to not get killed by Jokic or Ayton, but mobile enough to make the defensive switch onto guards. Bam, Rob Williams, Looney, yes are a little smaller than traditional centers, but still like 6’9″-6’10” and can hold their own against true bigs.

Unfortunately for the Clips, they probably don’t have a center on the roster that fits that mold. Batum might be the closest thing they got and I do think his future might be more as a small ball center, but he is pretty small. Since the Clips are missing that kind of player, they will have to kind of do it by committee with Zu/Hart against certain matchups and Morris/Batum/RoCo against others. Given their depth, I think the Clips can achieve that defensive versatility, but it means probably keeping Zu and Hart (or other true big if Hart moves on) on the roster for when they’re needed.

Looking back, I can’t help but think about how much smoke there was of the Clips taking Robert Williams at 13 in 2018. I wouldn’t have been a big fan of that pick at the time as it definitely would’ve felt like a reach at 13, but JRob was probably even a bigger reach so knowing the alternative, Rob Williams would’ve been preferable. Feels like they were hoping Fi or Oturu would be that kind of defensive player, but they just didn’t pan out. Maybe they’ll take another shot at it in the 2nd round this year.

Even so, Zu is an above average defender in the league, and Hart was near the top at some key defensive metrics, so I think they’re still very important pieces to this team. It always feels like the Clips have the personnel to be a top 5 defense in the league, but they’ve just never put together that kind of defense. They played top 10 defense last year even mostly without PG and Kawhi, so really feels like they have the personnel to be a top 5 defense, if not the best defense in the league. Would be really nice for the Clippers at some point to be known as like the best defensive team in the league, which has never been the case at least as long as I’ve been a fan.

By: Oodypkt

Oodypkt — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 09:55:09 +0000

There is one main reason I wish we keep both Zu & Hart. I don’t want to go through another process of finding a capable big again, at least for the next few years.
We drafted Fi & Oturu then sign Serge and Boogie. Well, you know the result for this.
Then, we have training camp battle between Giles & Hart and we found the gem.
For 15 spots on the main roster, we have 2 lead ball handlers (Reggie & Preston) and 2 big man (Zu & Hart). That will leave 11 places for wings with varying sizes and skill sets.
And I also think we target another wing or wing-sized player in this draft class. A guy who can handle/pass/defend/rebound and shoot. A plug and play guy who can do a little bit of everything.
I guess we won’t draft a big again, at least in the near future. 🙂

By: John Maclean

John Maclean — Tue, 31 May 2022 21:05:34 +0000

Great for the regular season and useful against Joker and other ogres. But as we can see by this year’s playoffs the 5 position just keeps shrinking round after round. There will be little room for one true 7 footer in the championship rounds let alone two so the FO is going to have to take that into consideration when it comes Zu and Hart. I don’t see both on this team after the trade deadline but having them both to rack up regular season wins would be a luxury for sure.