01-25-2023, 03:24 AM
(01-25-2023, 02:52 AM)HoosierDaddyKid Wrote: Ok, fair enough. We'll see how things shake out. We're at the halfway mark. Nobody's convincing you otherwise.
At this point? No, of course not, the Clipps haven't done anything at all to be convincing.
In the last 10 games, they are 5-5 -- which is actually slightly worse than their overall win rate. They haven't beaten a single team that's elite in over a month. There's nothing in any of that to say they have changed direction; they look good when playing the scrubs, then lousy when playing the good teams.
In case you're wondering, the Clipps are 13-12 with Kawhi. They are also 13-12 without him. The only really good team they beat with him playing was a win over BOS in LA in early Dec.
That's not to say it CAN'T change for them. But it hasn't at this point, just the same ole same ole.
If they start spanking the big boys with some regularity, or start winning 7 or 8 out of every 10, then it's time to look again. But sometimes teams with high expectations never put it together, for whatever reason. So like you, I expect they eventually will be quite good (just because of the talent), but it hasn't happened yet and we're 60% of the way through the season. So maybe they just aren't who we thought they will be.
One more point - teams that win titles tend to win big in the regular season, and it's been decades since a team won less than 50 (or the equivalent, in a shortened season) and then went on to win the title. For LAC to win 50, they need to win 75% of their games from here.