Comments on: Resting Clippers fall to Cavaliers, 122-99

By: mlslaw1

mlslaw1 — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 20:38:55 +0000

Agree on the Moses take. I like him. Bouncy young rebounder, the kind of guy a pro team needs. Better than Bobi, Gortat and whoever else the team brot in for that role. And, did anyone notice that the guy has been refining his FT shot? Noticeably better. Is he a better rebounder than Moose? I think so. He affects the game and is improving. Just not quite there for a rest of the season upgrade at this point….

By: zhiv

zhiv — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 17:58:59 +0000

There were some interesting wrinkles to this game that got passed over. Part of it was bringing a lot of energy into it because of the win streak, and then having a day (and now two) to reflect after the deflation caused by the lopsided loss. I listened to the pod yesterday, and Flom was in dismissive mode, nothing to see here folks, while Shap tried to say something about the scrubs/canoes, but didn’t get far. But I think there’s more to it.
First off, I didn’t like substituting Norm into the starting lineup for Luke. Norm has been so great coming off the bench, and I understood the rationale–with no PG, Kawhi, or even Morris, Norm is better at getting his own shot. But I didn’t like seeing the Terance-Luke starter chemistry (with Zu, and Nico and Amir joining in) interrupted.
And the problem was borne out quickly, as Norm forced things, was Horrible Norm (as we’ve seen at other times), and quickly played the Clippers out of the game. Would have been much better to have him coming off the bench.
Instead, Preston and Boston later began their long run, with a sizeable deficit already in place. Ty made a fascinating move bringing Zu back, and we got to see the three bigs line up. Preston was bad in the 2nd quarter, and he only got better in the second half when it was a G-League game. The same was true for Boston. Yes, Boston was no good at all when it was a real game of sorts, but having a 20 point quarter in the 4th was notable. With better rotations–playing alongside Norm off the bench, in a briefer stint with the game closer–maybe his start wouldn’t have been so ugly. We never got to see the three bigs with Terance and Luke/Norm–or even better, with Batum at SG, as Lucas suggested.
I don’t think that Moses Brown’s game should be completely overlooked and dismissed either. There’s a kneejerk dismissal all the time on the pod. We all know his profound limitations. When he made contributions to winning a game or two, energizing the depleted Clips against weak opponents, he gets an occasional “he’s pleasantly surprising,” but still not worth talking about. In this game he was an immediate factor on the boards, and he changes the defensive rebounding equation. I know he’s not good, and he’s not good enough to fill the Clipper needs, but we can still have a conversation about what he does, and he’s been getting more comfortable and showing improvement. He’s putting in the work, and he is showing signs of “getting it” and being a prospect. The Clippers are such a deficient defensive rebounding team, though it’s better now with Kawhi going strong, that Moses is almost a helpful option. He’s earned a little more respect, I think.
Then there’s Moussa. The downside is that he disappears and doesn’t make plays when he gets rotation minutes. It’s a bit like B.Boston being bad when the game was on the line, and Boston and Preston needing time to get comfortable and warmed up. We can see a coherent strategy now though. Leave Moses on the roster getting DNPs and using up his two-way games, while Moussa gets in his G-League minutes. Moses will go down and not be around, while Moussa can get games on the roster and even in the rotation, possibly, on this road trip before the trade deadline. It would be nice to see him have a good stint or two. Things will change now, with Morris coming back–it will be hard for RoCo to get minutes. That’s why this was an important Moussa game, and he was largely absent. He did hit a three, which was nice.
When there’s ongoing discussion that “the Clippers need an athlete,” I think Moussa needs to be remembered and tracked in that context. For me, he could grow into being the backup athletic big, and I’d like to see him get some time there. A trade is presumably coming, and the equation is going to have different factors and change in all sorts of ways. The game and rotation against Chicago, trying to pick up where things left off after the Atlanta game, is going to be super interesting. But there were some things in the Cleveland game worth noting, I think.

By: World B. We

World B. We — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 17:52:33 +0000

100% agreed Chogokin.

By: zhiv

zhiv — Tue, 31 Jan 2023 17:25:57 +0000

I haven’t seen any commentary yet on the three bigs lineup–Moussa, Zu, and Moses. Lucas noted it on Twitter. The bummer was that it was with a Preston and Boston backcourt the whole time, rather than Terance and Luke/Norm. Against Cleveland was perfect–let Zu spend some time at PF on Mobley. More below.

By: mlslaw1

mlslaw1 — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 23:25:57 +0000

For me, the game was all about two phrases and one question —
Phrase 1: Twin towers — cudos to Ty for trotting out the Moses/Moose towers. And how about that Moose 3? Promising.
Phrase 2: Sleight of hand — referring to that very nifty pocket pass from Preston to Moses. Replayed it a few times to see which hand Preston used to make the pass. Never could tell for sure. Lots of talent right there.
The question: Don’t they teach D in the G?

By: chogokin

chogokin — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 18:15:16 +0000

I like OG but we don’t really have a need for him unless he can sort of play PG like what Mann has been doing. Plus, if the rumors about Toronto asking for a King’s ransom for him are true, we don’t have nearly enough assets to get him.

As I’m sure you’re aware, I’m all aboard the Collins train.

By: chogokin

chogokin — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 18:13:22 +0000

I’d rather trade MM than Covington, but I could stomach shipping RoCo out if it were for like FVV. I will be angry if the FO ships out RoCo as part of a Conley deal.

By: khyber jones

khyber jones — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 16:30:10 +0000

O.G. Anunoby has a cheaper contract than does John Collins. He’s owed 19M next season and then has a player option for 20M, which I think he’d decline. That gives the Clippers some options here. Both ATL and TOR have been entertaining offers. Clips do have players and picks to give for each. Toronto might not want to extend Anunoby for a max deal, and ATL might want to get out of paying Collins 23.5M over each of the next 3 years.

Both players have similar stats over the past 3 seasons. Anunoby is more of a 3/4, and Collins is more of a pure #4. Collins seems like the better fit, and that ATL team looks like one at a crossroads. The smart thing for them to do is to fire Nate McMillan and see if a new coach can make better use of the roster and get people more motivated. ATL playing at their most optimal level is capable of beating any team in the East. But I don’t think ATL knows what it wants to do, which means that Collins might be ripe for the picking. I’d take Collins over Anunoby, but I’d take either one and be fairly happy. We need front court depth.

By: khyber jones

khyber jones — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 16:13:10 +0000

Looking at the trade deadline buzz:

Jae Crowder might end up with the Bucks. The offer seems low, a few reserves and 2nd round draft picks. Crowder could help the Clippers too but Suns won't trade him to a rival, and I don't know what kind of physical or game shape he is in.
O.G. Anunoby trade rumors are heating up. NYK seems very interested and they can offer a lot of picks. Getting him and diminishing RJ Barrett's role would be good for them. Clips could offer Covington, Coffey (or Wall) and draft picks for him. Knicks have more first rounders to give, however, and a team like Toronto covets those kinds of picks because they can't build their team through free agency.
John Collins and DeAngelo Russell rumors seem to be tapering down a bit.
Jakob Poeltl is available. Clips gotta go make the sale.

There's also the story that Kawhi is pushing for a point guard, which I interpret in a few ways. One, his successful teams have had Tony Parker and Kyle Lowry at the helm, so it makes sense that he'd want someone similar in such a role. Two, he's telling management that the John Wall experiment isn't working and they need to move on. My guess is Mike Conley very badly wants to come to the Clippers. The articles out there touting him for the team almost seem like they were written by his agent. A package of Covington, Wall, Coffey + picks would work in the trade machine. Perhaps the Clips could add Preston to the package to give the a young, tall PG to groom as a replacement. Utah might be willing to do it. I'm starting to think that Conley might end up being the move. If Conley becomes a Clipper, Mann probably moves to the bench unless Morris moves to the bench.

By: khyber jones

khyber jones — Mon, 30 Jan 2023 15:05:51 +0000

I saw Norm Powell go 0 for 5 in Q1 on some very makeable shots and the Clips got way behind. Lue, wisely I think, threw in the towel early and let the Ontario Clippers have a shot at the Cavs. It just seemed to me that none of the regular players were all that interested in risking injury in a game they knew they were going to lose. That’s the modern NBA. Until the league adopts my proposal of reducing the # of games to 72 or 70, eliminating back to backs (+ starting it on Dec 1 to avoid the bulk of football season), that’s the way it’s going to be. Back to backs have always been bad for the game. NBA needs to clean up the schedule.

I liked how Jason Preston played. He ran all day, got to the rim, decent looking floater, good timing on PnR passes, good floor general, looked athletic enough to play defense as well at his size (6’5″).