Being a part of Clipper Nation isn't fun right now
NBA/ Basketball thread
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AdamEFC
Player Valuation: £35m
What do you think they should do this summer? Blow it up or bring everyone back and have a huge tax bill and at best be the third best team in the west?
Also anyone else think they should get rid of Doc?
I think regardless they are fated to fade back into obscurity whilst the Lakers, with Magic at the helm, reclaim the city
This whole era has been a huge missed opportunity. I could excuse them perhaps not winning a title in the age of Lebron, Curry and Durrant, but to not even reach a conference finals with the players they had and Doc coaching? That's inexcusable and an utter bottle job
Good ol' Bulls choking in the playoffs again. We had a 2-0 lead coming home from Boston and now we go into game 6 trailing 2-3. Need to turn up at the United centre ready to rescue this series.
When Westbrook joins the Lakers, goodbye playoff Clippers
AdamEFC
Player Valuation: £35m
And Paul George
Does Paul George like to pass? If they can add PG, Westbrook, and a lottery pick, they'll be tough next year.
Not that I'm convinced Westbrook has what it takes to win a title, but still they'll be very good.
Westbrook is a PG. And he passes...he just needs a second banana that's happy being second best, and...let's be fair they're going to be second best.
He also needs some shooters. That OKC team is diabolical.
There's not more than a handful of players in the league as good as Russ, but me-first PGs don't get many rings.
In fact, I wouldn't categorize many of the champs in my lifetime as me-first. Just Mike and Kobe. And Russ has a lot to prove to make company with them.
*Also, he had the perfect 2nd banana, and that guy hated playing with him/found a cuter gf
Wouldn't hurt if he learned how to shoot better himself.
Volume scorers like him are overrated IMO.
Durant was not a second banana. That was a huge part of OKC's problem (and they took GS to 7 anyway) in my opinion. In OKC Durant was expected to be the star, mainly because he was drafted first and was tipped to be a massive massive star, and because he's a freakishly gifted scorer. But Westbrook is the one with the killer instinct that actually *makes* a star.
Russ puts up obscene assists with absolute dung surrounding him, he is absolutely willing to pass. He's also smart enough and good enough to know that a mediocre Westbrook shot in crunch time is more valuable than something put up by his current teammates, who would be high lottery fare without him.
I don't think he wins a ring, just because he's not on SA or GS or named Lebron James, and I also think he's going to absolutely break down in 3 years because he kills himself every night...he's a modern day AI.
But, just like AI, you get him on a team that can space the floor and knock down open 3's? He'll take you far all on his own, because the man is a demon. If he ends up in the right spot with the right coach and teammates that can do their job effectively, I can absolutely see Westbrook being the best player on a championship team. He just needs teammates, GS to collapse, Lebron to get old, and maybe Pop to retire.
I love Russ because I love obscenely broken things that defy common wisdom. He broke things this year...somehow he maintained a ridiculously broken usage rate for the entire year...and it objectively made his team better.
Christ. Did you see his team?
Volume scorers are overrated when the best option is someone else. He basically did not have that option this year.
Russ is great, and he's great to watch (if he's your type of player), but I can't favor him to win a ring because he doesn't fit my prior assumptions on what type of NBA player wins rings.
I just don't rate him that highly. He's crazy fast and works really hard. He's a below average shooter.
You mentioned Iverson earlier. For me that is a decent comparison. Both good players...maybe even HOFers because of the stats they put up.
Not really winners though.
Man, if there's one thing we should know - there is not a pure formula for rings. Nash never won one and he was always pass-first. Steph broke basketball for 2 years with 3's.
Mike and Kobe were dominant forces with great players behind them. Lebron Is.
The Spurs have a system that generally works, though we'll see if they can do it without Duncan in the middle. The '04 Pistons were a thing (admittedly rules have changed since then). So were the Mavs when the Heat failed so spectacularly to begin with. Speaking of, wasn't Wade a shoot-first PG in '06?
I agree Russ is unlikely to be the centerpiece of a dynasty. He seems too iconoclastic. But I also wouldn't bet against him stealing a ring in a down year if he ends up on a team that works with him.
Let's not forget he took a team with 73 wins to 7 games with Durant and Ibaka. Outside of those three, it was by no means a great team, as seen this year. We shouldn't downplay how incredible that GS team was, and by proxy how good OKC was, just because LeBron decided that everything mortals wanted was immaterial because it was time for Cleveland to get their ring.
I think his attitude rubs people the wrong way and they undervalue how incredible he is on the court.
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