Comments on: Clippers vs. Nuggets Game Preview

By: CrossRoads

CrossRoads — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 16:57:46 +0000

The players know how to play the right way but evidently, per KL, the team did not play hard, play smart, move the ball, and played much hero ball. A very strong collective message sent against Lue which is good for the future of the team. The FO needs to take notice.

Fire the team’s offensive coaching staff. Further, let Dan Craig take over or try and get Udoka. There is still hope. Take care of the KL / PG / Nico / RoCo / Mann windows!

By: Taiji Miyagawa

Taiji Miyagawa — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 09:23:58 +0000

The lack of ball movement, or more precisely, the consistent commitment to NOT moving the ball (identified by Kawhi postgame as "hero ball"), screening, moving off ball to get the higher percentage shot, is not going to be fixed by some magical pre-trade deadline trade. It's a team culture problem and it's not being addressed properly. Lue thinks it's a rotation problem alone, but he's not facing it head-on even with rotations tweaking, IMO - evidence to the contrary actually, that he's avoiding the core issue (e.g 3 & 4 guard, weak defender lineups). There's also a gross lack of accountability for not getting the ball to the top priority options.

By: khyber jones

khyber jones — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 07:21:13 +0000

One of the challenges with this team is that the coach doesn’t seem to understand the personnel and is trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. One might not need any personnel changes (except maybe for a Hassan Whiteside type big who can play for 5-7 mins a game) with a different approach. I think this is a dribble penetration and mid range area team. Defensively, I think this is a team that works best with a solid #5, which then amplifies the wing length on defense and puts the offense in tough spots. Ty thinks this is a small ball, drive and kick, corner 3 team on offense with some skill players to keep the defense honest and a wing heavy, switching, position less defense. I don’t think he’s right about his assessment. So he either coaches the players that the F.O. puts together as they are (not as he wishes them to be), some massive trades take place, or Ty Lue is let go for someone who fits the personnel.

By: Oodypkt

Oodypkt — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 07:12:51 +0000

This^
Blown out or close one, it still count as 1 loss.
Next couple games should be the time they bounce back.
Let’s see.

By: G RAP OLD SCHOOL LIKE YOUR DAD

G RAP OLD SCHOOL LIKE YOUR DAD — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 07:11:02 +0000

Feel bad I’ve been M.I.A Kids and remodel along with work taking over my life. But I’m still watching the games I can and checking scores and I’m still riding with all you guys! However this comment above ^ By chog is as real as it gets. I can’t do it but would love to just fall asleep and wake up during playoffs if we make it, and skip this dreadful regular season bullshit the team and organization is feeding us!!

By: dhpat

dhpat — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 06:43:28 +0000

My wife pointed out that the good thing about having such a crash to the bottom, we can only go up from here!
Well, I’m usually an optimist, but if Coach continues his experimentation with nano-ball and as Kenny Smith commented at halftime, this course is not going to get us ready for the Playoffs.
We still have a great team — that still needs to work things out together. We have some time (not much), but it is better that we hit rock bottom now than in March.
So, hopefully, tomorrow’s game will be better. Getting blown out in a game is not a big deal, but if we continue to play poorly, this is a problem.
Since that game before Christmas, have the Clippers played even 3 good quarters of basketball? Yes, the players need to be pros, but the coaches need to give them a proper plan.
As they say in basketball, next play, next play.

By: lying dog-faced pony soldier

lying dog-faced pony soldier — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 06:32:33 +0000

Never thought I’d be saying this but you may be right.

By: chogokin

chogokin — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 06:25:44 +0000

There’s plenty of blame to go around. Ty’s to blame for using the first half of the season (re: the easy part of the schedule that we needed to crush) to conduct experiments that we all knew would fail to begin with. The players are to blame because even if you don’t have a well-defined role, you’re a professional – you can’t come out and loaf and slack and let another team you’re trying to catch in your conference utterly punk you like this on national TV.

My only hope for anything positive that might come out of this travesty of a basketball game is that maybe this can be the catalyst for some major changes that have been overdue.

By: chogokin

chogokin — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 06:21:40 +0000

If he’s lost the locker room (which is looking increasingly likely after tonight), then cutting Ty loose is more critical than any trade we could make.

By: khyber jones

khyber jones — Fri, 06 Jan 2023 05:56:48 +0000

We all thought this 7 game road trip with 1 home game in the middle was a great opportunity and test. We’re now 2-5 over that stretch, and we were very lucky to win vs Detroit. Toronto is also kind of a badly coached team b/c Nurse’s defense is so over the top and predictable that other players get way more space than is normal for a NBA game. We should really be 1-6. Blew the tests vs Philly/Boston. Careless in the loss vs Indiana. The loss to Miami is doubly embarrassing considering what the Lakers did to that team just 2 days later with scrubs. This loss to Denver (another team that the Lakers handled well at home w/AD) is another statement loss.

If this team has any pride at all, they should beat Minnesota tomorrow by double digits.

There’s something to be said about a team having an identity. We had an identity last season: tough, gritty ballers who give you a tough game despite missing all star talent. That team and our 2018-19 post lob city era team were two of my favorites to watch. We were bad asses. We have no identity right now and half the season is nearly over.

Yes, there’s time to turn it around b/c the conference has generally underperformed, but we could also go on another 1-7 stretch and be on the outside of the playoffs looking in. We have a lot of players but it’s not a unit that understands how it wants to attack teams, optimize its players, take away an opponent’s strengths, and exploit their weaknesses. We’re not viewing every possession like a battle to win.

A lot of this is on the coach at the end of the day. I can’t really blame the players too much. Their roles keep shifting almost daily. They’re just doing the best they can. F.O. has to engage w/Lue and figure this out.