OT - Spurs/Clips

[champs99and04]

I feel so bad for Chris Paul.

 

[superjohn]

Griffin played so well all game but he was a disaster in the 4th quarter, Clippers just miss too many ft's and do too much stupid stuff to win a series like this.

 

[aceboon]

Screw ups by DJ and Austin Rivers on the non box out on Danny Green, but games like this are why I get annoyed with CP3. It was obvious that Blake was tired and he's still trying to set him up, passing up a pretty good midrange opportunity to set up Crawford for a 3 that barely grazed rim, he needed to go out guns blazing and he just wasn't aggressive enough for my liking. Those takes he had to the rim showed he could get his whenever he wanted, if the Spurs tried to play him for the drive then he could have got the elbow jumper working like he did in game 4 all day long. Disappointing game from him imo, and that tech he got in the 4th also was a factor in the end.

I know they are different players with different mindsets, but this is why I say gimmie Steph, at least I know he's going out guns blazing.

 

[Scoe]

Tim Duncan is amazing 39 years old, where does he rank amongst the all time greats. The Clips have the better roster but shot themselves with critical mistakes in the last 5 minutes.

 

[Kitaman]

Tim Duncan is amazing 39 years old, where does he rank amongst the all time greats.

No better player at his position, equal perhaps but none better. Deandre Jordan is a 'young' and an outstanding defensive player, yet Duncan still is not being shut down.

Amazing player he is, so glad I witnessed his performances.

 

[aceboon]

Tim Duncan is amazing 39 years old, where does he rank amongst the all time greats. The Clips have the better roster but shot themselves with critical mistakes in the last 5 minutes.

Eh, Clippers have the better starting 5, Spurs bench is way better tho, Doc has done a horrendous job putting that Clippers roster together. Giving Spencer Hawes the full MLE and not having any dough to give to Paul Pierce is gonna be a big reason why they go home early. Giving Jared Dudley away for nothing because he had a poor year while playing injured is also another blunder.

 

[Chin Diesel]

No better player at his position, equal perhaps but none better. Deandre Jordan is a 'young' and an outstanding defensive player, yet Duncan still is not being shut down.

Amazing player he is, so glad I witnessed his performances.

The tissue regeneration he had done a few years ago will be the model going forward for aging players. As bone/joint/tissue deteriorates between age 30-35, they'll go to the doc's for a mid-life overhaul and get another 5-8 years of near peak performance. There will be a drop off but not as steep and the floor of performance will be higher.

 

[Kitaman]

The tissue regeneration he had done a few years ago will be the model going forward for aging players. As bone/joint/tissue deteriorates between age 30-35, they'll go to the doc's for a mid-life overhaul and get another 5-8 years of near peak performance. There will be a drop off but not as steep and the floor of performance will be higher.

Interesting. Does this also work for The Muscle? This old fart (and mrs) would like to know.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Interesting. Does this also work for The Muscle? This old fart (and mrs) would like to know.

That's way above my paygrade in the medical field. Tim had something done along the lines of using his existing tissue and giving it a bump with some newfangled medical technology that basically allowed his knees and/or shoulder to regenerate and become more spongy. I read some stuff on it 3 or 4 years ago. Right when you were expecting his decline, he leveled off and has actually increased productivity. Being held to 27-29 mpg with 5-6 games off during the season helps too. Popovich is a genius in managing player health during the season.

 

[tykurez]

Interesting. Does this also work for The Muscle? This old fart (and mrs) would like to know.

I thought there were pills for that?

 

[Kitaman]

I thought there were pills for that?

Yeah but those pills are like a woman with weaves/extensions. All natural is the way to go.

 

[James]

i'm not sure i hate an nba player more than austin rivers. he was legit angry when his pops took him out at the start of the 4th ha. I also remember him mouthing "oh my god" after drummond was drafted ahead of him. entitled brat

 

[UConnSean]

Eh, Clippers have the better starting 5, Spurs bench is way better tho, Doc has done a horrendous job putting that Clippers roster together. Giving Spencer Hawes the full MLE and not having any dough to give to Paul Pierce is gonna be a big reason why they go home early. Giving Jared Dudley away for nothing because he had a poor year while playing injured is also another blunder.

This---Clippers with Dudley and PP is a waaay different story

 

[champs99and04]

Screw ups by DJ and Austin Rivers on the non box out on Danny Green, but games like this are why I get annoyed with CP3. It was obvious that Blake was tired and he's still trying to set him up, passing up a pretty good midrange opportunity to set up Crawford for a 3 that barely grazed rim, he needed to go out guns blazing and he just wasn't aggressive enough for my liking. Those takes he had to the rim showed he could get his whenever he wanted, if the Spurs tried to play him for the drive then he could have got the elbow jumper working like he did in game 4 all day long. Disappointing game from him imo, and that tech he got in the 4th also was a factor in the end.

I know they are different players with different mindsets, but this is why I say gimmie Steph, at least I know he's going out guns blazing.

I can definitely see what you're saying in regards to him being more aggressive, but man, that sounds awfully harsh for a guy that went for 19 points, 10 assists and 0 turnovers. The tech...CP3 certainly has to take some of the blame, but damn, you really wish the officials would show a little more thick skin in those spots (easy for me to say, granted).

I just love the way he competes on both ends of the floor. I really think he's one of the best guards to ever play, which is why it sucks that he can't break through these playoff barriers, often through no fault of his own. This is one of those series, at least for me, that doesn't really alter my perception of anybody involved. Just seems like two titans colliding in the night and there being no way both can win. Between Leonard, Duncan, Paul and Griffin you've got four of the best players in the world out there at all times.

 

[aceboon]

CP3 can't take only 14 shots in 40 minutes, he can get his own shot anytime he wants and with him and Blake really being the only two that can create their own shots and shoot efficiently(Blake fell apart down the stretch, he looked exhausted), he needs to be getting 20 shots minimum in that amount of minutes. CP3's stat lines are usually always going to look good(the game 3 disaster excluded), but he needs to be way more aggressive in a situation like last night, Jamal Crawford was garbage last night and he took one more shot in 12 less minutes, that can't happen. This clip below from Isiah Thomas pretty much hits on the issues with CP3, he just plays too safe sometimes, he needed to hunting for more shots in the 4th.

Edit: apparently the clip has been removed from YouTube, but it was basically Isiah Thomas saying CP3 cares too much about his assist to turnover ratio and plays too safe at times, and he wanted to see him be more aggressive in these playoffs and really go after it, basically be like him.

I can definitely see what you're saying in regards to him being more aggressive, but man, that sounds awfully harsh for a guy that went for 19 points, 10 assists and 0 turnovers. The tech...CP3 certainly has to take some of the blame, but damn, you really wish the officials would show a little more thick skin in those spots (easy for me to say, granted).

I just love the way he competes on both ends of the floor. I really think he's one of the best guards to ever play, which is why it sucks that he can't break through these playoff barriers, often through no fault of his own. This is one of those series, at least for me, that doesn't really alter my perception of anybody involved. Just seems like two titans colliding in the night and there being no way both can win. Between Leonard, Duncan, Paul and Griffin you've got four of the best players in the world out there at all times.

 

[superjohn]

Screw ups by DJ and Austin Rivers on the non box out on Danny Green, but games like this are why I get annoyed with CP3. It was obvious that Blake was tired and he's still trying to set him up, passing up a pretty good midrange opportunity to set up Crawford for a 3 that barely grazed rim, he needed to go out guns blazing and he just wasn't aggressive enough for my liking. Those takes he had to the rim showed he could get his whenever he wanted, if the Spurs tried to play him for the drive then he could have got the elbow jumper working like he did in game 4 all day long. Disappointing game from him imo, and that tech he got in the 4th also was a factor in the end.

I know they are different players with different mindsets, but this is why I say gimmie Steph, at least I know he's going out guns blazing.

I agree with everything you said but I think there are a whole lot of reasons to take Steph over CP3, Curry is clearly the top pg in the game.

 

[mjmoney23]

It's amazing how CP3 doesn't get any heat despite having won as much as Carmelo Anthony.

 

[James]

@superjohn its closer than you would imagine. individually, cp3 is still vastly superior defensively than curry. I agree curry is ahead, but cp3 season was pretty astonishing. played 82/82 games while engineering the best offense in the nba and putting up gaudy stats. curry just has him beat by the astronomical 3pt numbers he puts up.

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

It's amazing how CP3 doesn't get any heat despite having won as much as Carmelo Anthony.

I've been saying this for years now.

For someone who has been widely regarded as the best PG in the league for years (and most "experts/analysts" tout as a top 5 player in the league), hes done basically nothing in the playoffs. I remember one nice run with NO when they lost to the Lakers I think, but other than that its not much; has he even won a playoff series since he got to LA?

Clearly they can win the next two games and advance, and I get that the West is loaded every year. But his postseason resume is lacking.

 

[champs99and04]

CP3 can't take only 14 shots in 40 minutes, he can get his own shot anytime he wants and with him and Blake really being the only two that can create their own shots and shoot efficiently(Blake fell apart down the stretch, he looked exhausted), he needs to be getting 20 shots minimum in that amount of minutes. CP3's stat lines are usually always going to look good(the game 3 disaster excluded), but he needs to be way more aggressive in a situation like last night, Jamal Crawford was garbage last night and he took one more shot in 12 less minutes, that can't happen. This clip below from Isiah Thomas pretty much hits on the issues with CP3, he just plays too safe sometimes, he needed to hunting for more shots in the 4th.

Edit: apparently the clip has been removed from YouTube, but it was basically Isiah Thomas saying CP3 cares too much about his assist to turnover ratio and plays too safe at times, and he wanted to see him be more aggressive in these playoffs and really go after it, basically be like him.

I can't really argue too much with you because you're right in many ways, and it's something I'll notice when I'm watching the game too where CP3 will pass up a wide open mid-range jumper to basically get Blake the same shot. He'll be wheeling through the lane, you think he's going to step into one of his baseline jumpers, and then all of a sudden he's firing it back out. The pass he made in the fourth quarter to Griffin spotting up behind the three point line was particularly egregious. At first I was like, "whoa, great pass," because I thought it was Reddick, but when it turned out to be Griffin I wasn't sure what the hell he was thinking.

Still, though, even if you can nitpick on a possession by possession basis, and say maybe he could have been more aggressive here and there, I still think he's been phenomenal in this series, probably the best player on the floor all things considered. There are so many variables beyond Chris' control - DeAndre's foul shooting, the terrible bench, the lack of a real wing, etc. - that we almost expect him to throw a perfect game every time out, and he sort of has to for LA to win.

 

[aceboon]

I've been saying this for years now.

For someone who has been widely regarded as the best PG in the league for years (and most "experts/analysts" tout as a top 5 player in the league), hes done basically nothing in the playoffs. I remember one nice run with NO when they lost to the Lakers I think, but other than that its not much; has he even won a playoff series since he got to LA?

Clearly they can win the next two games and advance, and I get that the West is loaded every year. But his postseason resume is lacking.

2 series win, last year against GS in the first round(missing Bogut and still went 7 games), and a few years ago against Memphis in the first round. He won 1 series in NO, went 7 games in the conf semis against the Spurs and deferred to Jannero Pargo in the 4th quarter of a game 7 loss at home.

 

[HuskiesAllDay]

I can't really argue too much with you because you're right in many ways, and it's something I'll notice when I'm watching the game too where CP3 will pass up a wide open mid-range jumper to basically get Blake the same shot. He'll be wheeling through the lane, you think he's going to step into one of his baseline jumpers, and then all of a sudden he's firing it back out. The pass he made in the fourth quarter to Griffin spotting up behind the three point line was particularly egregious. At first I was like, "whoa, great pass," because I thought it was Reddick, but when it turned out to be Griffin I wasn't sure what the hell he was thinking.

Still, though, even if you can nitpick on a possession by possession basis, and say maybe he could have been more aggressive here and there, I still think he's been phenomenal in this series, probably the best player on the floor all things considered. There are so many variables beyond Chris' control - DeAndre's foul shooting, the terrible bench, the lack of a real wing, etc. - that we almost expect him to throw a perfect game every time out, and he sort of has to for LA to win.

But isn't that what the great ones do?

Not every game, but certainly in a crucial game 5 at home after you just won on the road to tie it up?

Sure 19 and 10 is a fine game. Nobody is blaming him. But at some point he has to take over. Isn't that what a top 5 player in the league does? Even if he doesn't have it going, at least go down swinging. He had his usual, standard (albeit very good) game last night. But his team needed a little extra and he didn't do it (again).

 

[BluffCityHsky]

The Floppers are again another highly overrated underachieving bunch of babies that everyone has bandwagon des on to. I just flew out of LAX and they have more clippers gear than lakers for this years front running fans. Only person on that team with any heart is Matt Barnes(although a little crazy). West is too tough for them and why again they will not make it past the first round. I'll give them credit if they win game 6. But I'm looking for them to roll over. I've seen those clowns too many times at fedex to respect them. Watch Chris Paul and Blake griffin live at a game and you'll realize how whinny they both are. Floppers are a joke. Also for the record screw Cliff Paul too. I'll never buy Allstate. As an aside I don't think there is any better point guard in congestion than CP3. Just can't respect the attitude

 

[WeAreUCONN]

I feel so bad for Chris Paul.

Chris Paul is a chump. dude has never won nothin and never will win anything.
that entire clipper's team is a bunch of cry babies, including their coach Doc.
Blake couldn't hold Duncan's Jock strap.
Been a spur's fan for going on 27 years.
clippers are an annoying bunch that cry, whine, and make excuses.
Spurs Win because they are just that damn good.

 

[Scoe]

It was an interesting strategy seeing Popovich pulling a hack a Jordan.