Game Thread GAME# 74: CLIPPERS@ BLAZERS - APRIL 1, 2015 - WEDNESDAY, 7:00 PM (PST), KGW & NBATV

There ya go. Fire The Coach! That's the answer.

 

Anybody know if there were injuries that cleared the way for Austin Rivers to get playing time? Or is it just daddy/daughter day everyday in LAC? My god he's terrible! He actually puts forth decent effort, but he should really be in the d-league. It's disgraceful that his dad traded for him so he could gift him playing time.
Also, WTF happened to the ESPN site? (I'm sure it's already been discussed, but it's my first time seeing it...)

 

He is the only PG on the roster outside of CP3. But yes, his daddy probably planned it that way so he would have to play. Rivers (last I looked) has under 10 for PER. He is awful.

ESPN site has it's own thread already...

 

That's what golden state fans said last year too.. Now their on the way to a title

 

Link?

 

Yes they are the number 1 seed, but let's not pull the cart before the horse here. They haven't made it past the first round yet, and they definitely haven't reached the finals.

Denver, Dallas, Miami, Phoenix and Seattle all had seasons with the best record, dominating teams in the regular season. Do you know what they all had in common?! They lost in the first round when they were the #1 team in the league.

 

Agreed on all points. Towards the end of the 3rd quarter Stotts sat all of the starters. 11 pt lead was down to 4 when Dame checked in with about 9 min left in the game. By the time LA checked back in at around 7:00 min mark it was a 1 pt game. What did he think a lineup of Blake, Wright, Freeland, CJ, Kaman was going to do? He assumed since offense came so easy earlier in the game & with Clips on 2nd end of B to B that the starters would be able to restore order if (or when) the bench blew the lead. But too much momentum had been built. He finally panicked & called a t/o just to get LA back in the game when the lead was cut to one. The damage was done and Clips smelled blood in the water. Of course we need to make sure our top guys get enough rest, but when and how you do it are critical. I don't like his sub patterns. Not to mention his defensive philosophy. We are completely fine with giving up uncontested mid range jumpers, & lately we've been giving open 3s also. We never pressure or force t/o's, which is a big reason we don't score many fast break points. He doesn't even acknowledge the defensive failures. Last night he said "I suppose our defense could have been a little better, but you have to credit the Clippers for making shots". He always says that. Yeah Terry, WIDE OPEN shots. Only time I heard him voice displeasure with defense was after loss in ORL a few weeks ago. Other than that it's scary how he sees the game and that his strategy is hopefully our opponents miss all of the open midrange shots we willingly offer up.

 

Two things that impacted the game beyond our defense. Jordan made some freethrows and Griffin hit two 3s after only shooting a few all season. All this with a monster game by CP3 that was tough to counter. Face it folks, the Clipps played a great second half and beat the good guys. No need for a meltdown. We lost by a couple of points and it sounds like we were blown out. We just got beat! There'll be plenty of chances to beat them in the playoffs. I'm not giving up on this season but go ahead if it gives you joy. Fire the coach, chase LA to Texas, etc...not me. I still have faith.

 

I'm still not convinced the Golden State Warriors are actually built to win in the Playoffs. The series they lost last year to the Clippers was due to Turnovers and a massive deficit of scoring in the paint. They decided to allow Iggy to handle the ball to get Curry more open looks and when the defense shut him down they simply could not score. Of the teams that matchup well against them, the Clippers are one of them. No question the Warriors have gotten better and Steve Kerr has done a great job. But i have to feel that the lack of injuries and the improved play of both Thompson and Bogut with a healthy Lee is the real answer here. This has created space for Curry to excel and remember Curry also has not twisted an ankle all year to this point. Funny how that works.

 

I think it's safe to say anyone who's posting here hasn't truly given up on the season. Even the ones that say so don't really mean it. I'll admit, I had NO confidence we would beat the Rockets last year, and this year feels a lot like that. We started 30-8 and went 18-18 after both years (for different reasons). But last year taught us that it's not a death sentence to sputter in the 2nd half of the season. Everybody is 0-0 & anything can happen in the playoffs. That said, it's disappointing to see the reoccurring patterns. Sure, CP is great. But when a guy is killing you like that show him some different looks! Some of us that nag about Stotts don't necessarily want to show him the door, but maybe bring in an assistant with a defensive mind. We won't be elite until we change our defensive strategy. We need to be able to trap better, force at least an average amount of t/o's, and attack our opponents playmakers instead of letting them dictate everything. We need to switch on screens more, and contest shots better. Elite teams are hard to score on. They suffocate & make you feel uncomfortable by locking you up, at least for stretches of the game. That's the step we need to take to be elite.

 

I'm certainly not advocating getting rid of Stotts, but just like players need to improve, so do coaches. That loss was so deflating because of its importance and our inability to close the deal was maddening. In the bigger picture, only 1 team in the conference has had a clearly superior season than us, so hope for postseason success remains even while I stew over last night's debacle for 48 hours.

 

While the game wasn't of the same magnitude, the 4th quarter of last night's game kinda felt like Game 1 of the 91 WCF ... Solid lead, four bench players in, by the time starters returned momentum had swing firmly in the visitor's camp.

Also, I keep wondering why we don't look to force more turnovers. They lead to fast break points and when we are clicking, really clicking, it's because we're getting easy looks on the break.

Lastly, I'm getting sick and tired of Stotts' spiel about the other team "just making jump shots." You hit it right on the head, they were WIDE FUCKING OPEN. And it's not like we were banking on Udonis Haslem or Brandon Bass - good, not great shooters - to cool off. It was Blake Griffin and in case Stotts doesn't know, that jumper is money in the bank all night if he's left alone. I guess what frustrates me the most is we didn't even try to do anything different on defense. How is that acceptable?

 

First person to correctly guess what my response to this would be gets...um...a congratulations from Capt. Obvious?

 

Then again, judging by how poorly we run some of our fast breaks, maybe that's not a good thing to have more of them.

 

I don't understand how you can be bad at fast breaks. It's like the easiest thing to convert in basketball.

 

Shows we need to do it more.

We're pretty good at the weave. Maybe we should do the weave during our fast breaks, high school basketball practice style!

 

Lolololol I'd laugh so hard if we did that. We could call it the Buddy - Ted - Luke three man weave.

 

As an aside: The official score keeper shorted Batum a rebound in the first quarter. He had 4, but only got credit for 3.

And how about that bullshit second foul on Afflalo? RedDick bodied into him, then continued to drive into him like he was a blocking dummy at football practice, and Arron go the foul and had to sit. Also, I watched the last two Clippers games and both games the "screener" routinely sets a moving pick then turns into a downfield blocker and moves the defender five feet out of the way giving the ball handler a clear path to the basket. It's pure bullshit and I can't believe it doesn't get called. Lillard got absolutely creamed on that play in the fourth quarter.

On a positive note: Right from the first possession the Blazers did a great job solving the high Damian double problem.

 

The defense would be like "WTF?". Then SLAM in yo face!

 

Makes me sad. Our team in the early 90's used to thrive on the break and now ... not so much.