Comments on: Former Clippers in the 2023 NBA Playoffs: Late Second Round

By: WhyNotTyler

WhyNotTyler — Tue, 16 May 2023 10:32:20 +0000

Looking forward to the WCF a lot. Watching Joker has been a pleasure but he’s in for a massive challenge with the way the Lakers and especially AD have been defending and how Ham has coached so far. LeBron vs Aaron Gordon is also gonna be fire.

Further looking forward to how Denver will try to exploit LeBron’s high variance on the defensive end (part of why I look forward to see Aaron Gordon play against him, Bruce Brown probably second in line). How productive those guys can be on the offensive end will be a significant factor imo. And then there’s the guard matchups that could (and should) turn very feisty. Murray, KCP, Reaves, Schröder. DLo would be a surprise here, he plays more within himself if that makes sense. Reggie obviously, let’s see how many minutes he gets.

And then there’s the others that could turn into x-factors like MPJ, Rui or Vanderbilt, maybe even Christian Braun or Jeff Green. Plus the ‘non-… minutes’ when AD or Jokic rest, home court advantage, officiating, foul trouble.

Hope everyone stays healthy, this series should be lit

By: John Maclean

John Maclean — Sun, 14 May 2023 04:35:12 +0000

My Laker derangement syndrome is clouding my prognostications so I can only say you may be right. I’m uncomfortable that Joker might get harassed athletically and turn into a pumpkin. If he weren’t a Euro none of us would question who should be the vastly better team in this series. But we are biased so here we are. Just keeping it real. I think the dude has proven himself incredible and would hope all that genius couldn’t just be bullied off the court. If he’s Tim Duncan big fundamental Mach 2 they will obliterate the Lakers. Must see basketball. Go nuggets. GO NUGGETS! Can’t believe I’m saying this:-)

By: Morty CA

Morty CA — Sun, 14 May 2023 03:11:16 +0000

"Phoenix will 'explore the feasibility' of luring Lue from Clippers (Stein)" Lue for a first and you can have him!

By: lying dog-faced pony soldier

lying dog-faced pony soldier — Sun, 14 May 2023 01:15:40 +0000

They’ve lucked into another run.

By: KingAlfonse

KingAlfonse — Sat, 13 May 2023 23:27:50 +0000

Pulling like hell for nuggets this round. Want nothing but ruin for the lakers, lucking into this run like they have. They’re fools gold.

By: KingAlfonse

KingAlfonse — Sat, 13 May 2023 23:26:43 +0000

If they want him they can give us a draft pick with Portis.

By: KingAlfonse

KingAlfonse — Sat, 13 May 2023 23:25:22 +0000

Yeah fuck the lakers.

By: key ma

key ma — Sat, 13 May 2023 15:03:17 +0000

Yeah, that’s nasty. They already get their asses kissed for anything remotely positive.

By: lying dog-faced pony soldier

lying dog-faced pony soldier — Sat, 13 May 2023 14:35:55 +0000

What’s with magnanimously congratulating the Lakers on anything?

By: khyber jones

khyber jones — Sat, 13 May 2023 06:56:48 +0000

As for the Lakers-Denver matchup, it’s a tough one to predict, but I’m going with the Lakers in 6 or 7 games (I’ll say 6).

In my view, the Lakers have better shot creators and scoring punch among their role players as compared to the Nuggets. Russell, Reaves, Walker, Schroeder, Hachimura have each had big games in these playoffs where they have taken over the game for stretches. Russell, Reaves and Walker don’t really need much help to get their shot off, which is a big plus in the playoffs. All 5 of those guys have had multiple double digit scoring games in these playoffs, and 3 of the 5 have hit 20 points.

The Nuggets have Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, KCP, Bruce Brown and Christian Braun. It’s a good group of scorers and defenders, but they lack the shot creation ability of the Lakers. They are reliant on Jokic putting them in good spots to succeed. Well, Lebron James is also pretty good at making players around him better. He’s among those who wrote the book on the subject.

That leaves AD. Can AD deter Denver’s efficiency at the rim? Well, yes he can. So where does Denver go for scoring with the Lakers providing good defensive resistance and the Nuggets have to defend the Lakers at the other end? I think the Lakers just have a few more answers to the questions than do the Nuggets.

In addition, I think Murray can be a volume scorer and ball stopper, which won’t likely be effective against the Lakers.

Darvin Ham also has Jarred Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley to throw into the rotation as needed for situational match ups.