bald head is going to transform NBA into a WWE type of thing before long imho, more of entertainment and less of basketball itself.
Clippers will be fascinating. I have no doubt they are one of the best three teams in the West...if they can stay healthy. That is a big If.
Now they have a ton of mouths to feed. It will be a very interesting science experiment. To add Westbrook. Plumlee, Gordon and Bones is a nice talent addition, but can they gel as a team?
RW will find himself in the Wall role very quickly IMO.
Edit: Hopefully he loses them a few games before that happens.
(02-20-2023, 11:06 AM)Chicagojk Wrote: [ -> ]Clippers will be fascinating. I have no doubt they are one of the best three teams in the West...if they can stay healthy. That is a big If.
Now they have a ton of mouths to feed. It will be a very interesting science experiment. To add Westbrook. Plumlee, Gordon and Bones is a nice talent addition, but can they gel as a team?
That's the $64 dollar question. They certainly are one of if not deepest teams in the NBA. Westbrook can no doubt help them if he plays within his limitations. Lue is a good coach that can handle egos. They may surprise.
they made some good deals in February and if they can stay healthy they are a legit contender imho. hate to say it but even their 2nd unit would look better than the best 5 we can arrange barring kyrie and luka. suns still have the best starting 5 in west but their bench may be shittier than ours.
Clippers still scare me with RW or not. I checked on Kawhi about a week ago since he missed a bunch of games and hadn’t heard much about him. He’s just casually at 22 ppg with percentages a little below 50/40/90. They are just coasting trying to have everyone healthy for the playoffs and if they succeed watch out.
I think RW loses them 2-3 regular season games and they John Wall him.
(02-20-2023, 11:28 PM)ItsGoTime Wrote: [ -> ]I think RW loses them 2-3 regular season games and they John Wall him.
And OTOH, this could motivate Russ and he plays like he has something to prove. Especially to the Lakers...
(02-21-2023, 09:32 AM)HoosierDaddyKid Wrote: [ -> ]And OTOH, this could motivate Russ and he plays like he has something to prove. Especially to the Lakers...
I mean, motivated RW is what I’m counting on TBFH.
(02-21-2023, 10:36 AM)ItsGoTime Wrote: [ -> ]I mean, motivated RW is what I’m counting on TBFH.
I don't think motivation to play hard has ever been Westbrook's problem. It's his decision-making and poor shooting that have made him a liability.
After many years in the league, I don't think he can change. What you see is what you get.
(02-21-2023, 12:09 PM)DallasMaverick Wrote: [ -> ]I don't think motivation to play hard has ever been Westbrook's problem. It's his decision-making and poor shooting that have made him a liability.
After many years in the league, I don't think he can change. What you see is what you get.
Good point. Russ never cheats the game.
(02-21-2023, 12:09 PM)DallasMaverick Wrote: [ -> ]I don't think motivation to play hard has ever been Westbrook's problem. It's his decision-making and poor shooting that have made him a liability.
After many years in the league, I don't think he can change. What you see is what you get.
What did you say that I didn’t? This was implied in my reply. My original statement implied this too. More RW on any team is not gonna be good. As an interested party looking for a leg up on the competition, having RW jack up shot after shot in crunch time instead of Kawhi or George?
I don’t think it’s gonna take more than 2-3 losses before the Clippers sit him like John Wall. Fortunately, the damage will have hopefully already been done in the regular season to keep the Clippers below us in the standings by that time.
(02-21-2023, 09:32 AM)HoosierDaddyKid Wrote: [ -> ]And OTOH, this could motivate Russ and he plays like he has something to prove. Especially to the Lakers...
Most of the NBA media guy hate the trade, but they have been wrong before. I also think Lue is a really good coach. I just find it hard for Russ to have a big role there. I have really liked what Powell provides for them. Gordon, if he can still play, is probably a better fit when Leonard and George are on the floor. Bones could be your deep bench guy to provide a spark and also be a future asset they can develop (does he want to be in this role....it appears in Denver he thought he was ready for prime time). That leaves Russ. Maybe when Kawaii sits, Russ can help run the team with Paul George. But I thought Powell could fill in these minutes.
I still have the Clippers rated very high. It is just concerning that they have not played much together and injuries are always a concern.
(02-22-2023, 10:52 AM)Chicagojk Wrote: [ -> ]Most of the NBA media guy hate the trade, but they have been wrong before. I also think Lue is a really good coach. I just find it hard for Russ to have a big role there. I have really liked what Powell provides for them. Gordon, if he can still play, is probably a better fit when Leonard and George are on the floor. Bones could be your deep bench guy to provide a spark and also be a future asset they can develop (does he want to be in this role....it appears in Denver he thought he was ready for prime time). That leaves Russ. Maybe when Kawaii sits, Russ can help run the team with Paul George. But I thought Powell could fill in these minutes.
I still have the Clippers rated very high. It is just concerning that they have not played much together and injuries are always a concern.
I agree to most of what you say. Gordon can still play. He had a leading role in Houston as the experienced vet and actually won a few games for them. But he has been screaming to be let loose for over a year, and they finally did. From what I've heard, Hyland didn't get along with Jamal Murray and had a few confrontations with Malone when he was slacking and taking bad shots. I think he could be an excellent player under the right tutelage and Lue seems to be the right coach. We'll see. Powell is their hired gun off the bench. They have Mann or Russ besides George and Leonard to primarily run their sets. They have a 22-game audition to get it together before the playoffs start barring injuries. If they figure it out, in that short span, watch out. JMO.