y2zipper wrote:dk7th wrote:although neither ginobili nor mills hit the marks that i set for them in order to win game 7, the eye-opener for me is the elevated play of blake griffin. if he can maintain anything close to these numbers the clippers will go far. yes chris paul was fantastic but frankly i do not expect him to continue to have more games like this. griffin, however, is still developing as a player and i have to believe the game is slowing down for him, he is seeing the floor better, and he is tightening up his shot selection, making the correct pass instead of taking a bad shot.i always think about what bill russell syas about playoff basketball, that it's about defense and matchups. whoever on houston has to guard griffin the next round is going to have a tough time. in fact, i think griffin is going to have an outstanding series against houston.
then again who do the clippers have that can neutralize james harden??? reddick and paul are not enough. barnes is a hothead and will accrue fouls too quickly.should be a very intriguing series and i will be watching how griffin and harden fare as the "next generation" of stars.
Blake Griffin is playing the best he ever has right now, and the Clippers are only going as far as Paul and Griffin take them. Long term, the Clippers need to move on from Deandre Jordan and get some reserve guys that can actually play, but Houston is a good matchup for them. Chances are that you'll see Barnes and Paul on James Harden mostly, neither team is particularly deep here, and Harden hasn't been that good in the playoffs these last couple of years.
The Spurs look like that core is about done, but it's mostly because Ginobli and Parker are deteriorating while Duncan is playing great at 39.
That was I thinking for the Clippers to retool their bench, rather than paying a max to keep Jordan
They simply have no bench and they have done great the entire year despite the injuries they have had to Blake, Crawford, and right now CP3
Something like a trade for Jordan and better use of the 6m MLE that could be used on one player or divided
Devin Harris and maybe Barea
Tyson Chandler
maybe Aminu
MLE
Barnes and Crawford are both getting older though Barnes had has a great year and Crawford isn't worth a long term contract at his age either with his weakness's in defense/inability to create/facilitate
Spencer Hawes *in a trade* to get rid of Jordan as well
Tyson Chandler may be a downgrade for DEFENSE for the Clippers, however, his FT shooting is much better, while he will not command anything close to what Jordan would get
Clippers need to replace some older players and have an actual bench
They surely at least need a legit backup PG and 3rd string PG, at least a Sessions type talent, along with a replacement for Barnes *who has played very well but is quite old* as well as a backup SF, and another PF/C though thought Edoh would be more utilized with Hawes unable to produce with limited minutes
Hawes wasn't horrible when Blake Griffen was out but he isn't able to find his game with limited minutes and has declined much already
Thought he would be a poor mans Ryan Anderson with less speed/mobility and more blocks, but he has been a huge disapointment thus far