Comments on: Clippers, Westbrook seal must-win game, 141-132

By: mlslaw1

mlslaw1 — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 17:51:15 +0000

might have been a plot to push the Lakers out

Yeah, a lot of semi shady shenanigan’s happening this time of the year and the clips do it too.

By: khyber jones

khyber jones — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 14:12:28 +0000

Clippers have to earn a split over the next 2 games. Minnesota losing Naz Reid puts them at a disadvantage vs the Lakers b/c it means more time for Gobert on the floor, and he’s a dumb player who can sometimes appear barely coordinated. We should be rooting for a Laker win tonight. Nuggets rested Jokic vs N.O, which might have been a plot to push the Lakers out of the play in b/c they don’t want to face them. Not sure if he plays tonight vs Phx. I think Phx wins tonight. Warriors are probably getting the win over San Antonio, so a win tonight is needed to keep us at the #5 spot.

By: WhyNotTyler

WhyNotTyler — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 12:11:32 +0000

Agreed, the Pels game is even bigger. IF Kawhi doesn’t play both games of the back-to-back then I think they should have him vs the Pels – otoh, if that leads to a loss at Memphis, the Kings may semi-throw those games vs the Pels and Warriors. Not just for the play-in but for almost all teams, every little detail matters. Crazy season

By: John Maclean

John Maclean — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 08:27:44 +0000

Great stuff. To me I think they have to prioritize and focus on the the Pelicans because that’s the easier hill to climb and will do double the damage to pushing the Pels out of the 5/6 seeds. I think they should rest all vets but Norm, RoCo and Plumlee and put all the kids out there against the Griz. Tell them to just let it rip and see if something crazy happens. We’re going to need some help with Wolves no matter what so to me that’s the smart play.

By: WhyNotTyler

WhyNotTyler — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 05:16:23 +0000

Tomorrow is gonna be absolutely huge:

The Lakers @ Minnesota. If the Lakers win, they got 3 easy games left and we play them head-to-head. Could get to 43 wins. If the Wolves win, they got 2 easy games left and could be considered favourites in all four remaining games. In that case they probably get to 43 or even 44 wins.

The Kings play the Blazers. If they win that one, a win at Memphis gives them realistic hope to snatch the second seed – and we need the Kings to play hard because they still face the Warriors (1 game behind) and the Pelicans (1 game behind if they beat us again).

In addition to that the Warriors have a must-win at home vs the Spurs and the Suns face Denver with a rest advantage (but the Nuggets rested Jokic). That game could tie us in the loss column and give us a chance to pass Phoenix on the last day of the season (which we probably don’t have if we trail them by one game because Phoenix leads head-to-head and by division record – so tomorrow’s game and the final game possibly decide HCA).

That Memphis game could become almost as big as the Pelicans, Lakers and Suns games

By: WhyNotTyler

WhyNotTyler — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 02:55:21 +0000

Thx, just checked:

In that game, a) Kawhi was out b) he didn’t score a field goal vs either PG or Mann c) all of his 3s came vs the bigs, Norm or Morris. That points to defensive breakdowns. d) he scored a ton vs RoCo e) Clippers had 17 turnovers

I like the chances to prevent a lot of those when he’s mostly facing PG, Mann, Russ, Bones or Kawhi and a better team defense.

By: WhyNotTyler

WhyNotTyler — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 02:44:11 +0000

Don’t forget Adams and Konchar. They had to play Lofton and Chandler. Which may have been the difference between a very tight game and winning. And give a ton of shots to Brooks instead of Bane. We could defend Kennard in part because they didn’t have the other spacers, offensive threats nor the playmaking of Jones out there.

Short: on offense, we could replace what we were missing way better. Defense is a different story, both teams nosedived.

By: WhyNotTyler

WhyNotTyler — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 02:37:36 +0000

Seen that too. Gotta pay closer attention, overplaying too much would be my guess where he got the most room for improvement.

By: WhyNotTyler

WhyNotTyler — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 02:34:05 +0000

You’re not the only one. I’ll leave it to you whether to stick to your impressions or do some fact-checking and maybe tweak those opinions by a bit. No need to turn into a Westbrook fan because there are definitely flaws and negatives and some do hold up. E.g. being a bad shooter.

Usage ‘monster’: his usage on the Clippers is 24.9%…

Bad defender: he has done his job vs Dame, CJ, now Brooks and others of his matchups, had great defensive ratings vs OKC, the Warriors, Denver, Minnesota, the Knicks; vs the Celtics, Mavs, Hawks, Heat, Nuggets with the Lakers (while frequently playing without AD and always playing without a wing stopper) and a whole bunch of other teams – notice the red line here? All good teams, except for the Blazers.

Westbrook’s direct opponents shoot 2.5% worse than their averages (season stats, 4.3% worse on the Clippers which ranks .2 percent behind only Kawhi). They shoot a whopping 7.9% worse from 3. He has one of the lowest defensive field goal percentages on the Clippers, .8 percent behind Kawhi and .1 behind Bones – while Russ takes on quite some tough assignments.

Russ’ opponents also shoot worse within 6 and 10 feet, he provides at least some paint and rim protection when necessary. He’s highly switchable and rebounds, gets deflections, steals, blocks, makes hustle plays. His transition defense has improved, to the point that he stopped fast breaks as the lone defender in four consecutive games for the Clippers.

Your call whether you consider some of these points or not.

By: JCplusULTRA

JCplusULTRA — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 02:05:44 +0000

CP3 was not a better offensive option than BG, but he was still the one with the ball. I’d rather have Russ have the ball than PG13. 1A doesn’t mean he is the primary scorer. He’s the one with the ball in his hands. You’d rather have PG13 with the ball to make decisions and Russ’ man sagging off for free double teams?

I’d rather have the ball in Kawhi’s hands and Russ’ hands when Kawhi’s resting.