Topic: 2019 NBA Pre-Season - page 382. (Read 920495 times)

Yeah, it's really hard to understand what is the predicament of the Lakers right now, in the IST they played very good to even become the champion. But after that, they seems to have lost that energy in that series and they are very inconsistent now.

They've lost to the Knicks, and it's the usual Lakers, first two quarters they don't play hard and then allowing the Knicks to have a good lead. And then they try to make a comeback  that mostly works against them as they need to have that energy and of course the time is not on their side.

They'll get over it, it might take time but the Lakers are a legit team so expect that they will come back with a win streak. Most of their losses are close ones, they should make the right adjustment on their succeeding games and I trust Lebron and AD to make it happen.

Next game on the road against the Bulls, this is a tough opponent as the Bulls just recently beat the Sixers, so it's a good challenge for the Lakers here, if they win that means they have adjusted already.

BTW, we have the Warriors hosting the Celtics tomorrow, I'm guessing, Warriors will lose. 

The Los Angeles Lakers are having difficulties in the wake of winning the In-Season tournament. They just won one of their last four matches. What made it bad was that the single win they had was when they played the Spurs the weakest team in their conference and they also lost the following day they met again.

This team needs to concentrate again. Attaining the IST championship is great but there is a more important trophy for them to take and it is the most challenging this season. Darvin Ham has a job to do and he better quit making excuses on the travel and fatigue because all NBA teams are likewise experiencing the same thing.

They seemed to find the right combination already, and that 8 win streak proved it. Leonard has to be consistent here as I don't trust Harden and Paul George to carry this team, not because they don't have the talent but because they haven't won a championship yet. So if the Clippers wants to win, they should main Leonard as their alpha player, the play should be focus on him most of the time and Harden and PG are just their to assist him all the time.

Thus far, on the 8 win streak they have, I believe Leonard is their top scorers based on average.

Against NYK 36
Against GSW 27
Against Kings 31
Against Blazers 34
Against Utah 41
Against Denver 17
Against GSW 20

To see their big 3 to score like that, it would easily result to a win because there's a balance scoring. I've never seen the Clippers as strong as this, it's just right that they put Westbrook in the 2nd quarter as he wasn't as accurate as this 3 in terms of shooting, and since Westbrook loves to hassle, he should preserve that energy well, so with limited minutes, he would be effective that way.

Westbrook played 17 minutes only, but he made 10 points from 4-6 shooting, that's quite high for him since his FG% per average is way lower than that.

Actually both teams are shooting over 50% overall, it's just that the Clippers got 50% beyond the arc, which is a big difference.

I really want to see them progress well and they might gonna get more wins after this because they are on fire and that won't be any problem for them right now their chemistry is high also they will gonna make it harder for their opponent to stop them at this rate. it only took them a few games to adjust and they managed to nail it well by observing what they were missing. I'm sure they are now a strong playoff team that will be considered a problem in the Western Conference.

That's what they are showing now, a domination. Beating the pacers by 24 points is a strong statement since Pacers played in the in season tournament, so they are considered as a good team. Also, before they struggle with scoring, now, they reach 151 points, that shows how the offense are flowing very well.

This game, they shoot 50% or 19 of 38 beyond the arc, imagine if they maintain that consistency, they'll be hard to beat since they the big 3 can also attack the paint, especially Leonard with his consistent mid range.

Leonard, 28
PG 27
Harden 35. 

These numbers aren't achieve before.

Harden is controversial player so it will be good for them to create some stories regarding his possible struggles when in Clippers since fans would provably read it since this is interesting development to be heard.

But since he adopt now in the system and now they already see the result of what they are trying to do then we can see Clippers as a monster team right now. Their adjustment really work for them and their cooperation especially with Westbrook side really paid off.

I guess they can make to the playoffs they are having a good run now so there's high possibilities that Clipper could sustain this since they have 4 star in their team which can totally dominate the floor.

As long as they are all healthy, they have that winning chance to any team that they will be facing, I guess they already adjusted and they
are all doing great job to keep that winning streak.

The rotation and the way they are sharing the ball it's more on trusting each other, they just need to continue and keep that trust, one game at a time.

Let see if they will be able to duplicate that good performance and keep that winning attitude alive to add more with their winning streak.

I'm following their games. I think you are missing out on Norman Powell. He's providing a lot of support offensively while coming of the bench and averaging 15 points in their last eight games. He's not much of an assist guy but he's giving the other teams more to think about.

This team is stacked.

Media are just trying to sell a story, if it's negative, a lot of people will be interested on it specially that they were really struggling when the Clippers acquired him through trade. But that was just before, IIRC, I think Harden said that wait until they figure how things. So this is it, they had already figured out how to win and I think they will be unstoppable now.

This win streak is going to a positive side, they won't struggle anymore, unless one of the star players will be injured, God forbid.

And now, looking at the standing, they are already in the safe ranking as they ranked number 6 in the West.
https://ph.global.nba.com/standings/

If they will maintain at least that ranking, they already already assured of a playoff spot.

That's already a given fact, majority here could be hating James Harden as he is so arrogant and he thinks that he is something special. But we all have to think that they are loaded as well. A healthy Kawhi and PG might be enough for the Clippers to win big. And as long as they are healthy, the Clippers with Harden can go on the playoffs. But it's just a question on whether they can sustain this run. So we will see, good for their fans now, winning their last 8, but their next games is not going to be that easy for them. Celtics is on a 5 game winning streak, Bucks 4. Pels is also on a 4 game winning streak, Kings and Wolves 3 game apiece.

^^ I think the media hates James Harden. Remember the video circulating online that telling James Harden is the problem and not the System.
Big win for the Clippers last game! 8 game win streak. These 4 All stars hopefully help and lead the team to their first championship. Great game for Harden, taking over the 4th quarter in just a few minutes. They've been up big already and I love their mentality now. I'm noticing their style with a barrage of offense from the 1st to the 3rd until Kawhi doesn't need to return in the 4th. Harden usually takes over as well as Powell and PG. Only injury will ruin again this momentum.

More likely there are more teams that deserve more attention? Or recently we have the Green situation and then Ja Morant coming back.

And probably there are less likely fans of Clippers here? They are still in the 6th position, tied with the Mavericks.

But I do agree with your observations, they are started to blend it, but we wanted them to test Mavericks and then OKC next and then Boston. But that will be great game and if they continue their winning streak and beating them with huge offensive weapons, then maybe we can have discussions how good are the Clippers.

Yeah, but him not playing today is a big factor to their lost. I thought that the rest of the team can win without him, but obviously, even at home, the team performed bad. So the Sixers, can't really rely on the team with Joel, sad to say.

So with that, I think the Celtics is more complete team though. And they have the best duo right now, in Tatum and Brown. And the acquistion of Porzingis and then Holiday was really very impactful for them as they are the first team to win 20 games, beating another great team in Orlando Magic.

Many here are talking about the Warriors and other teams, but no one is talking about how the Clippers are playing right now.
Why is that?

I mean they just won against one of the best offensive teams right now in the league Indiana Pacers, and they're currently on an 8 game winning streak. They have a record of 13-2 in their last 15 games, and right now, they are in the top 5 in terms of defense, and offense which is quite rare nowadays. Everybody is talking about Harden and his acquisition, but aside from that, there are 3 reasons that I think the Clippers are playing better right now.

1. Westbrook's adjustment from being a starter to now a bench player. For me, this is the main reason why they're playing better now. 2 ball handlers can't be playing together at the same time, and it's a good thing that he adjusted for the betterment of the team. Now he's mentoring those young players, and he's willing to adjust if that means winning the title... or will they?
2. Kawhi and PG are more healthy than they are. F*ck the load management. Now they're playing better already. Kawhi didn't miss any game while PG missed only 1 game. Now look where they are right now. They're better, and I just hope that either one of them will not get injured when the playoff comes.
3. Harden is back to his old self. I believe Harden is starting to come back to his old self already. Not the Harden when he's in the Rockets where he's a scorer, but the Harden we used to see when he was at Brooklyn, and Philly. The passer-type Harden and this is a good thing for the Clippers.

The chemistry is starting to build up already, and we've seen it in their past games. The only question right now is will they sustain this type of performance until the end of the season? If they will play like this all throughout the whole season, I believe they will be at the top 4 at least.

Klay Thompson never recovered mentally. There are still signs of being afraid about something bad might happen.
About Draymond Green, it will be difficult for them without him because of the high success rate of pick and roll with him and Steph Curry and then he is a big factor in their defensive positioning.
He can indeed be replaced but if we consider the time it will take for a new player to learn all that play, months or years of practice will be needed and Steph doesn't have that because of his age. All the Warriors can do now is put some players that would enhance their winning rate. Well, Brandin Podziemski is one of those players. Then, Kuminga is also stepping up his game and so is Moody. These players will be the key factors to win games, especially without Draymond around. But I will still not say they don't need him, he can be replaced but it's like starting all over again.
What they really need is for Wiggins to step up his game. He is back to that Timberwolves inconsistent player who I hate the most. I loved him last year because of his great contribution and phenomenal energy but this season had been a bad one for him. Too many errors and his post-up is not that good anymore. He played well against the Portland Trail Blazers but like I said it is inconsistent.

Honestly I'm impressed with the sixers.  Joel embid is indefensible right now.  They need consistency from their other players but he is playing with a chip on his shoulder right now.  I think the sixers are way better without Harden on the team with them.  That was definitely addition by subtraction.

Even if the Miami Heat does land on the seed below they can still be a treat to some teams just like they did in the last season of the NBA, and if the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers didn't become more consistent with their games and progress in a higher position they will not have a chance in getting into the playoffs but right now they are in a good position so far,


Maybe this is a plan for the Warriors to play their reserve players even more, and looking at the performance with 18 minutes of playtime Trayce Jackson-Davis is making great progress, and in that short time he has gotten 8 rebounds 3 assists, and 14 points for the latest game of the Warriors, and now Brandin Podziemski even though he played 33 minutes he just got 5 rebounds 5 assist and 10 points, and for sure Klay Thompson is heating up in every game he played,

No, it's not the age if we talk about Klay Thompson. His versatility and agility aren't on his usual now because of serious injuries. It was started in season 2018-19 when he tore his left knee ACL and injured his right Achilles the next season. He can still explode nowadays but the consistency is not there anymore. Look at Curry, still consistent because he has never been in a serious injury before, unlike Klay. For players to maintain their shooting form, they need the help of their lower body.

Not the age factor for Draymond Green too as he's not a scorer but rather his stats are unwritten in the book. Though it's obvious that as years pass by, he's not that much contributing to the team on both written and unwritten stats especially when the Warriors began revamping their roster.