Without question. So I've got to think that when OKC plays at the Moda Center, they will be of the mind that losing that game and possibly getting to play what's left of Memphis in the first round might be to their advantage.
Clippers will be easier to beat than the other 3, I think. Plus, it's a real accomplishment to have the 5th best record in the conference. BETTER THAN LAST YEAR.
We're going to be underdogs in the first round regardless - but the matchup with the Clippers just looks better than with OKC. The Thunder are rolling right now.
I think it makes sense that Westbrook is the guy taken as the backup. But if they decide to go 3 deep then its going to be interesting between Wall/Dame/Irving. I think it would be Dame > Wall > Irving.
IMO, Westbrook is the obvious #2 based on his defense, with Wall right behind him for the same reason along with his passing. Irving and Dame are a notch below in terms of what they'd bring to international competition. Absent injury, Olympic lineup should be (next choice in parentheses): Curry/Westbrook (Wall) Butler/Thompson (Harden) Durant/Leonard/George (Hayward) Lebron/Green/Griffin (Love) Davis/Drummond (Cousins)
I wouldn't question them if they took Wall over Dame, not the same with Kyrie however. I don't think you gain that much with Wall over Dame though. Also Anthony Davis has been ruled out of the Olympics.
Didn't realize that about Davis. Aldridge might be next man up at the center spot. In addition to his superior passing/court vision, I think Wall is a significantly better defender than Lillard (although as I recall, Lillard was noted as an insanely pesky defender the last time he was involved with USA BB). Lillard's main advantage over Wall is his outside shooting ability. I think Wall's skillset is likely more desirable to the USA BB coaching staff.
We are currently three losses behind Memphis. So if we finish tied they'll have three more losses than now. Thus we'll have the tiebreaker.
Agreed. Plus we're not sure how Griffin will return to the team. He'll have a lot of rust and be out of rhythm. He had a severe injury to his shooting hand. That can put any offensive player in a slump for a series. I definitely think we have a much better chance against the Clippers. Who knows though. I remember back the year we played Dallas when they won the title we wanted to play them more than any other opponent. We didn't want the back to back champ Lakers. Then in the playoffs Dallas got on a roll and the Lakers fell apart. We might've upset that Lakers squad who was easily swept by Dallas. That would've been an historic series win.
