Talkin Ball panel says the Clippers are simply just the better overall team.

Which is ironic, because depth is supposed to be our strength and their weakness.

I felt at the time that the Speights signing would be huge for them. A big body that can stretch the defense is the perfect antidote to hack-a-Jordan.

 

We're a (legit) 3rd scorer/alpha dog away.

 

I think the solution is to have Turner gel with the team more? He is supposed to fill this role

 

Luckily we have a lot of assets to possibly get one

 

Wow...

 

Wait, so when they play like they did tonight we can't beat them? LMAO. We got screwed by awful calls all game, shot horribly on good looks, and they got many lucky bounces, and we had a lead in the 4th quarter... How the hell can you say we couldn't beat them when they played as well as they did tonight?

 

Arent you banned for 23 years from talking shit about win predictions?

 

Yes but you're not just asking him to gel with the team, you want him to play not his strongest position to fit with the depth chart and then you're disappointed in him.
If we play him as a 2nd guard he wouldn't be as good and the team wouldn't be as good than if he played SF.
We need to find a better solution to maximize our potential.
Also, I don't want Meyers to fall out of the rotation. I'm certain he'd get his chance and get back to form but until he's in game shape we're far from full strength.
We have several options in the front-line. If we don't make a consolidation trade the key to being on our top level and keeping everyone happy is give everyone a chance and make substitutions based on what works. If some combination works you go with it, if the other team adjust, you switch another lineup, use the vast array of different type of inside players we have. Ideally, Meyers shouldn't get a DNP in a loss, if we lost the game then maybe he could have made a difference, given us a different look. We shouldn't get complacent deciding the rotations based on the prior game, we should keep reacting and adjusting and try to use as much of our arsenal as possible

 

Clippers have never had issues winning in the regular season. They're a level above a lot of teams during the first 82.
But when it comes to first to 16, they're not above anyone.

 

I call bullshit on that. Despite being jobbed by the refs, and despite the Blazers have a terrible night from 3 the Blazer starters STILL whooped their butts. Dame was +15 against them. Our bench was just horrendous, but I don't think our bench is actually that bad. Lillard is better than Paul.

You realize the clips got 46 fucking FTs last night? That is more than game 1 combined!

 

The blazers are still establishing a flow. Last night against a very good team you could see this breakdown in overall team rhythm. But bigger than that the blazers simply missed a lot of wide open shots.

 

Of course they are on another level. They play 8 on 5!!!!!
#paidrefssuck!!!!

 

Paul is still better than Dame and it starts there. The had similar offensive nights but Paul guards Dame while the Blazers tried to hide Dame on someone else for most of the night. CP3 is one of the top offensive and defensive PG's in the league. Dame is one of the better offensive PG's in the league and both sides of the ball matter.

Until Vonleh or someone else can play real PF position, Griffin is going to dominate whomever the Blazers put on him. He is simply too big and too strong. Aminu didn't do a horrible job on him but then it takes away from his offense on the other end as he is expending so much energy on the defensive end.

The rest someone cancel each other out. Jordan is better defensively and on the glass while Plumlee is better offensively. CJ gets more production than Reddick but with much higher usage so it's tough to equally compare. Harkless had a good night and dominated Mbah A Moute who the Clips ask nothing from and ignore Harkless (and Aminu) most of the time because they pay so much attention to Dame/CJ so he should score more as he gets lots of open looks.

As for the injury thing, The Clips were up 2-0, then Paul gets hurt towards the end of Game 3 and Griffin goes down in Game 4. When both teams were fully healthy, the Clippers where undefeated. I love the Blazers but you take the best 2 players off of any team and you BETTER beat them. The Blazers barely won some of those games even after both of them were out. So in the last 3 games the teams have played against each other with a full roster, the Clips are up 3-0. Yes, sadly I think they are the better team.

 

The Clippers are a regular season team like we used to be with Roy and Aldridge.

 

I think the greater experience of the Clippers really showed last night in crunch time. The Blazers, IMO, were too amped last night from the jump. I think that they have heard more than enough talk about how they caught a lucky break to advance over the Clips last year and really wanted to prove that it wasn't a fluke. I thought that guys were not playing in the flow of the offense for much of the game. CJ, Turner, and Crabbe all were guilty of pushing up some shots where they were off-balance or contested instead of moving the ball to get a better shot. Dame forced some of his drives and paid the price by getting blocked or called for charging. The Blazers let the refs get in their heads. I can't remember a time when Dame has lost his cool like he did last night. That isn't going to win against a team like the Clippers. Are the Clippers better than the Blazers? Right now, I'd say yes, but the margin isn't very great. The Blazers can beat them, but they're going to have to play smarter than they did last night.

 

You're rewriting history to suit your argument.

The Clipps were at full strength in Game 3. CP3 and Blake played the whole game and we beat them by 8.

In Game 4, we led the entire game, wire to wire and won by 14 points. The only tie was 0-0 and there were no lead changes. We controlled that game before CP got injured and left the game with 6:07 left in the 3rd quarter and continued to build on that lead until Blake left with 5:49 left in the 4th. Again note: we never trailed in that game. We would have tied the series at 2-2 regardless of the injuries.

You can argue that we would have lost the series going back to LA tied 2-2, but that's pure speculation. After losing the first two games by 20 points, momentum had shifted and Stotts had figured out how to beat the Clippers - at 100%. So, you can make whatever claims you want about what would have happened for the rest of the series, but it would be pure conjecture on your part. I can also make whatever claims I want about us beating a healthy Clippers team in Games 5 and 6, just like we did in Game 3 and for most of Game 4, but again, it would be conjecture on my part. What I can state with certainty is that the Clipper would not have beaten us in 5 games.

BNM

 

If Vonleh can really grow up in a hurry he might be that guy. He's shown remarkable growth from last year, but what I'm talking about is not his move from "Barely Worthy to Competency" but "Competency to Really, really good"

 

Yup. We just don't have a legitimate 3rd option big piece right now unfortunately.

I agree with you there. But what we do have is a big two and solid depth

 

What is it about him that makes you say he can't be the 2 guard? He's not a great shooter and needs to play with another wing who can shoot but I think he's got the tougher skill to find in that he can be the secondary ball handler and creator. And he's quick enough and has size to guard to guard 2s. I'd think finding a 3 and D wing (or maybe Crabbe is that guy) is more important and easier that finding a legit off guard. I'd think that Vonleh or Davis' development is the most important factor for you. Probably Vonleh becuase, from what I've seen, he's got more potential to be a guy who can create his own shot, not just score on offensive rebounds.