06-17-2021, 11:15 AM
(This post was last modified: 06-17-2021, 11:17 AM by HanspardsShowerVoice.)
(06-17-2021, 03:57 AM)Branduil Wrote: Just in today's games, the Clippers were able to get what they wanted despite facing DPOY Gobert. Similarly, the elite defense of Simmons and Embiid could do nothing to stop the Hawks from dropping 40 in the fourth.
Honestly feels like elite NBA offenses are reaching a point where they're just utterly breaking the idea of strong playoff defense. I still think you need some strong perimeter defenders and a good defensive center, and especially you don't want any massive liabilities, but I'm definitely coming around to the idea that elite offensive creators surrounded by shooters is far, far more important. The Clippers have been playing small ball the entire playoffs and no one can punish them for it; maybe that changes if they face Ayton.
Anyway, my point is, I think we need to think primarily about how to add elite offensive talent to this team. Defenders can be added for cheap later.
Completely agree. The Offensive Ratings of these teams in the playoffs is through the roof. Defense can win you a lot of regular season games, but deep into the playoffs if you don't have several players who can go get buckets in the final 3-5 minutes you can't compete. Bucks paid a small fortune for Jrue to put an elite defending team on the floor, theyre getting beaten by the Nets because at the end of the day the Nets can get buckets at the end of games and the Bucks cant. In 2021 I build around offense first and fill in the defensive gaps as I go.
It's funny, when Rockets traded for RoCo and decided to go small ball full time people acted Morey personally slapped Bill Russell on national telelvision and took a dump on Wilt Chamberlain's grave ... and now the Clippers are using the same exact strategy a year later and (likely) going to the Western Conference Finals, and no one seems to notice or care.