Game Thread PLAYOFFS: ROUND 1, GAME 1: BLAZERS @ CLIPPERS - 4/17/16, SUNDAY, 7:30 PM (PDT), TNT & KGW

Gimme those Cheez-Its!

How come 14 guys in close quarters have a Safe Sex book?

 

Curious how many of our guys are going out tonight. SAT night in LA, spring weather, I'd be all over hitting the town.

 

http://official.nba.com/referee-assignments/

Marc Davis, Bill Kennedy, Eric Lewis

 

Okay so here we are and Playoff game day is upon us.
Got a few things to go into but i'll try not to cover too much that has already been gone into to extremes. Everyone know about Hack-a-DJ. Most already know the Clippers will play dirty. They will Flop and whine there way to the free throw line. They will without a doubt try to start something and get into the Blazers heads. The sad part about all that is they shouldn't need to do any of that because they are actually one of the most talented rosters around. I guess that is the reason they are one of if not THE most hated team in the league. You shouldn't need to be a dirty team if you are a good team.

The Blazers will be lead by one of the most prolific PG's in the league and the Clippers will match that with a guy that many say is the best all around PG the league has ever seen. For all the talk about Paul the guy is a dynamo and he controls a game like no other. There have been some posts and i am sorry i can't remember who posted them but the gist was "Make Paul score". I agree with this overall idea. Paul is a facilitator. If you take all his options away from him and make him shoot it might take him out of his overall game. One thing in the past i have seen is when Chris Paul gets frustrated the entire team implodes. It's the Clippers "Choke" button we are all looking for.
Lots of eyes are going to be on CJ. IMHO CJ is the key to this series. When he is on the Blazers are very tough to beat. You can defend one guy on any offense. You can guard two guys on any offense but the third is the problem. If both Lillard and CJ are hitting shots making the Clippers spend their time covering the guards the entire game changes. Plumlee gets looks and gets 10-14. Aminu gets looks and goes for 14-16. Davis gets his looks and goes for another 10. Harkless becomes a threat to take the ball inside and he can go for his 8-10. That does not seem like much but that is 50 points from the guys the Clippers are not guarding tight. Once that starts to take it's toll both CJ and Lillard will start to get open looks and anything can happen.

You are all going to see Intentional fouling. Just expect it to happen. My question is how will he implement it? My bet is you will see it are various times if the game is close. The end of half has been Stott's favorite and of course if the game is in reach at the 8 minute mark in the 4th you will most likely see it. I heard some other ways to use it closing out a game when you have the lead. The problem with Fouling is it allows the defense to rest and get set. This makes it tougher to score after the fouls have been shot. But in some instances it does work when DJ misses over and over again.

Redick might be my biggest fear from the Clippers offense. Jordan is always a threat around the rim. CP3 a threat from midrange. Crawford a threat from long range if he is shooting well. Then there is the old guy Pierce who was actually brought on for this purpose. Paul Pierce knows how to play in the post season. The biggest question is Griffin. Is his Quad really healed? How much is his shot being affected by the "Punch". I read a story on the way the Clippers have handled the situation with his injuries and the whole thing is a mess. I do not expect Griffin to stay a Clipper after this year. But who knows?

My Prediction is Blazers 96, Clippers 94 in a tough fought game that ends in a crazy manner Los Angeles Style...... There will be lots to talk about after this game. It is the Blazers best chance to steal a game. Hit them hard and fast.
Go Blazers
Kjironman is a fan!!!

One point i forgot to bring up. The Blazers will miss Meyers in this series. No question he brings something the Blazers could use. He scores from outside and he is a 7 footer to bang on Jordan. Yes i think we will see Kaman in this series.

 

Great job DarkWebs!!! Love all the vids... this team really stinks and CP3 might have taken over king flopper from Harden based on your investigations!!!

 

Even Harden thinks Paul should be fined for some of those flops.

 

Who's gonna wail CP3 with the ball? I'd like to see Meyers do it; I'm sure he can throw pretty hard . . .

 

How about a Pat Connaughton 96 mph fastball.

 

Connaughton's fastball is in the 90s...if you want to really bean somebody..let the pitcher do it

 

You beat me to it by a hair dude!

 

That's a killer Notre Dame baseball outfit!

 

Detroit Bad Boys.

/end


In all seriousness, great post!

Going to be the best series of the first round! Good luck today guys! LET'S DO THIS!!!!!

Go Clips!!!

 

I think this may be the most entertaining matchup in the first round...Go Blazers! Welcome to the forum JC! You wouldn't happen to be Jamal Crawford by any chance? Nate was dumb to try to make you start at pt guard!

 

These are the hard hitting questions that must be asked.

 

We're taking game one boys watch out.

 

I didn't want to just click the like button. I wanted to write it. I like this.