Game #25: KNICKS (14-10) @ LAC (14-10) SAT 12/16—7:30 PM

[Captain Ballmer]

There is this thing on our bench I would like to point out. When a future 1st ballot HOFer, whom put up a 40 piece, triple doubles just last playoffs sitting right next to you on the bench, only plays like 15-20 minutes each games and then be a great cheerleader for starters is a great message to everyone. For starters, do not fuçk it up. For Bench, Don't sulk, bitçh, put unhappy face sitting next to me for lack of playing time.

I mean it's really hard for guys like Amir to sit when he already proved himselves 2 seasons ago that he's a rotation level Nba player, or same for Bones Hyland. And It will be for B.Boston from now on since he outplayed every g-league level and deserves a chance to be in a consistent role in an NBA team.

It's not suprise PJ Tucker is silent right now. You can't talk when Russ isn't talking. Huge props to Russ.

[Dynamix]

Gonna need a check-in from MTV, just to show the doubters that he doesn't only post here when the team's struggling and does in fact kind of enjoy it when they're playing well.

Still feels like players are figuring some stuff out, but our room for error seems a lot higher than earlier in the season. Kawhi playing like a basketball god definitely doesn't hurt. Also Harden starting to rack up those stocks.

Need to keep giving Coffey minutes, just to see what's actually there. Not all of them have to come from T-Mann or Kobe (although some competition there doesn't hurt), Kawhi and PG playing in the lower 30s helps me sleep better at night.

And assuming they didn't rush him back (there was no reason to, so I'll trust our medical staff just this once), it was nice to see PG return to action so soon and have a great second half. We need him, Kawhi and Harden being available as much as possible, because everything revolves around them. The losing streak after the trade and that awful Denver loss were a bummer, but at least they all suffered through it together and everyone got to see what does and doesn't work.

I continue to be impressed by Russ and Norm, the two players (with Bones being the third) I was most worried about after Harden came aboard.

Wonder what the FO is cooking up with PJ's contract, which isn't exactly an asset, but I also doubt we'll buy him out or just give him DNPs for two years. John Collins is out of our price range, so what other decent PF would be available for PJ, Bones, maybe some other young guy and one last FRP?

[esqtvd]

There is this thing on our bench I would like to point out. When a future 1st ballot HOFer, whom put up a 40 piece, triple doubles just last playoffs sitting right next to you on the bench, only plays like 15-20 minutes each games and then be a great cheerleader for starters is a great message to everyone. For starters, do not fuçk it up. For Bench, Don't sulk, bitçh, put unhappy face sitting next to me for lack of playing time.

I mean it's really hard for guys like Amir to sit when he already proved himselves 2 seasons ago that he's a rotation level Nba player, or same for Bones Hyland. And It will be for B.Boston from now on since he outplayed every g-league level and deserves a chance to be in a consistent role in an NBA team.

It's no surprise PJ Tucker is silent right now. You can't talk when Russ isn't talking. Huge props to Russ.

Brilliant. Barkley put it best the other night, when Draymond mugged Nurkic.

Chuck said he did it too. When you get too old to do what you used to be able to do, you lash out. Out of frustration.

So I don't blame Tucker for going to the media. Play me or trade me.



But we can't do either. You suck so we can't play you and no other team wants you in trade.

Rookie Kobe Brown and journeyman Amir Coffey have both played their way ahead of you at the bottom of the rotation. You are now #10 in the rotation and #11 when Plumlee gets back.

You can always negotiate a buyout at $5 million or so a year and I'm sure the Clippers will be happy to take you off the books. You're getting paid $11 million per year for the next TWO years to sit down and shut tf up. I think that's a good deal.

[Dynamix]

[Clemenza]

i want boston to develop and be a player for us but man, not helping himself by taking one quick 3, not throwing hands up on D, and then chucking one (now two) threes just like that.

I'm not a fan of G-League, on the whole. The only way to get noticed is to jack it up. But try that shtt in the NBA against REAL players--even in garbage time--well, even in garbage time, you're playing against real NBA players.

There's a link to watch every Ontario Clipper game for free. I've tuned in, but it looks like a YMCA game. Except they play better D at the YMCA.

I get what you're saying minus the YMCA comment, but lets not act like this didn't happen. He's definitely capable of doing some things on the big stage. He had Jayson Tatum on skates on a couple of possessions.

Watch on YouTube

Boston is still in the teams future. He's on the actual roster this year and still needs to put in more work on the defensive end, but this team is stacked to death. He'll just have to stay ready like Coffey did just in case of an injury to someone in front of him.

[Clemenza]

Good win tonight. This team looks and plays hungry asf!! Good to see Mann knock down a couple of jumpers but still passed up just as many. Kawhi has to be in the MVP race now. He looks unstoppable! Coffey earning minutes. Good to see. This team is stacked! We'll be 100% legit if we kill it on this road trip.

[esqtvd]

I saw most of his games with the Sixers last year and he was really good. But he has so much more to work with here, and more respect for his teammates. This is his final stop, do or die.

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[wakelaunch1]

There is this thing on our bench I would like to point out. When a future 1st ballot HOFer, whom put up a 40 piece, triple doubles just last playoffs sitting right next to you on the bench, only plays like 15-20 minutes each games and then be a great cheerleader for starters is a great message to everyone. For starters, do not fuçk it up. For Bench, Don't sulk, bitçh, put unhappy face sitting next to me for lack of playing time.

I mean it's really hard for guys like Amir to sit when he already proved himselves 2 seasons ago that he's a rotation level Nba player, or same for Bones Hyland. And It will be for B.Boston from now on since he outplayed every g-league level and deserves a chance to be in a consistent role in an NBA team.

It's not suprise PJ Tucker is silent right now. You can't talk when Russ isn't talking. Huge props to Russ.

Yeah I have respect for him. The best thing is he is trying really hard. I loved the put back he had on the Theis miss. Theis and Russ work really well together cause they both play hard and they dont demand the ball. We need more lock down defenders and if they can play that role, we have a chance with Kawhi playing awesome. I am also loving the way people play around Harden. Harden changed Zubac s worth on the team. Kawhi and PG just cant come close to that level of passing. And Zubac needs good passes to finish. Harden lately has been getting Zu early easy baskets and you see his confidence rise. Prior to Harden, it was only Mann who really got Zu easy looks.

[esqtvd]

i want boston to develop and be a player for us but man, not helping himself by taking one quick 3, not throwing hands up on D, and then chucking one (now two) threes just like that.

I'm not a fan of G-League, on the whole. The only way to get noticed is to jack it up. But try that shtt in the NBA against REAL players--even in garbage time--well, even in garbage time, you're playing against real NBA players.

There's a link to watch every Ontario Clipper game for free. I've tuned in, but it looks like a YMCA game. Except they play better D at the YMCA.

I get what you're saying minus the YMCA comment, but lets not act like this didn't happen. He's definitely capable of doing some things on the big stage. He had Jayson Tatum on skates on a couple of possessions.

Watch on YouTube

Boston is still in the teams future. He's on the actual roster this year and still needs to put in more work on the defensive end, but this team is stacked to death. He'll just have to stay ready like Coffey did just in case of an injury to someone in front of him.

Just talking about the G-League, bruh. Not a believer. I expect anyone worthy of NBA rotation minutes to dominate there. BBJ did. But so does Xavier Moon.

https://stats.gleague.nba.com/player/1629875/

[MartinToVaught]

Gonna need a check-in from MTV, just to show the doubters that he doesn't only post here when the team's struggling and does in fact kind of enjoy it when they're playing well.

I had family over and couldn't watch the game. Looks like I missed a vintage Kawhi performance.

[NickP]

Gonna need a check-in from MTV, just to show the doubters that he doesn't only post here when the team's struggling and does in fact kind of enjoy it when they're playing well.

I had family over and couldn't watch the game. Looks like I missed a vintage Kawhi performance.

Looks like you have missed a string of Kawhi performances

[Kelphus]

Just a great game. Team took a while to integrate Harden, but it seems to have happened now... I think we're in for a lot of fun now.

[The High Cyde]

Inserting a ball dominant guard after about five games into the season was a shock to the Clips system haha it was obvious the team would struggle after having to unlearn everything from training camp and preseason. Of course then the challenge was having to stitch back together whatever chemistry there was leftover. But luckily Harden is a much more willing passer than scorer at this point of his career, and he’s been one of the best playmakers in NBA history. The team is healing now, it is stronger and more resilient.

[LamarWho]

Kawhi during our 7 game winning streak:
0.671 FG%
0.568 3P%
0.949 FT%
29.4 PPG

Forget 50/40/90, how about 60/50/95 lol

[wakelaunch1]

Inserting a ball dominant guard after about five games into the season was a shock to the Clips system haha it was obvious the team would struggle after having to unlearn everything from training camp and preseason. Of course then the challenge was having to stitch back together whatever chemistry there was leftover. But luckily Harden is a much more willing passer than scorer at this point of his career, and he’s been one of the best playmakers in NBA history. The team is healing now, it is stronger and more resilient.

Its too bad for Russ but Harden/Russ minutes were so bad. Plus PJ was really awful. I think Ty Lue is doing a better job of seeing something thats not working and then moving off of it. He is so stubborn that he will force things the past couple of years.

I know we are winning now but the touches for everyone are so much better. I hated the 5 out offense. That style of offense will never win an NBA championship. Harden is taking the ball away from PG which is in my opinion is the best thing. PG will never be a point guard. PG needs to be a shooting guard, and guard forwards on defense. Just listening to the stories of how Harden took Zu and Theis after practice and works everyday with the pick and roll, telling them what he wants them to do, asking them how they like the ball. Thats a point guard.

[ERClips]

Other than Kawhi playing mvp type basketball, the rest of the Clipper universe revolves around Harden. He’s doing it all and exactly what we needed. It’s very hard to imagine now if we had never traded for him and continued the road we were on. Bottom line is he makes the game easier & better for everyone

[Vae Victus]

The Clips are on a great stretch winning 7 in a row. Harden has been slowly come along as advertised and its invigorated new life into Zubac and now the other superstars are playing very well off of him. Westy being a quality backup PG has been a godsend, for a team that hasnt had competent PG play ever since CP3 left.

Theis has done a great job as a stand in backup C, but his lack of girth is obviously noticable and getting Plumlee back will be helpful. Tucker has been worthless as expected and it really hurts that the team literally gave up 4 better PFs in Batum, RoCo, Mook, and KJM for him. Morey really did well in pillaging every asset possible dumping a dead money deal in PJ and hurting the Clips ability to make further trades. However, we have to hope that Kobe Brown keeps developing and with a healthy Plumlee, that Theis can be a competent backup PF as well. Coffey has shown some good things and if he can make that corner 3 consistently he can be an asset on the floor, both he and Mann HAVE to hit that shot since the other stars will always make that spot wide open.

C - Zubac, Plumlee
PF- Mann, Theis, Brown
SF- Kawhi, Coffey
SG- PG13, Powell, Boston Jr
PG- Harden, Westy, Bones

Coffey has moved up the pecking order as backup SF now, this team at full strength is VERY well balanced, and has elite spacing. Honestly this team can consistently load manage one of Kawhi/PG13/Harden and not miss a beat considering how well the reserves fit together with the starters in their roles. However it's clear that everyone pushing hard and going full blast to get the best record possible. If there's a time to load manage, lets do it after securing a top 3 seed!

With the current team construction and elite overall playmaking, buyout candidates really should look at LAC as their first option, as it'll be easy to highlight them if they have the right skills.

[esqtvd]

Mann's +/- is excellent but it's not tough when you play with those four.

Read on Twitter

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[madmaxmedia]

Theis has done a great job as a stand in backup C, but his lack of girth is obviously noticable and getting Plumlee back will be helpful. Tucker has been worthless as expected and it really hurts that the team literally gave up 4 better PFs in Batum, RoCo, Mook, and KJM for him. Morey really did well in pillaging every asset possible dumping a dead money deal in PJ and hurting the Clips ability to make further trades. However, we have to hope that Kobe Brown keeps developing and with a healthy Plumlee, that Theis can be a competent backup PF as well. Coffey has shown some good things and if he can make that corner 3 consistently he can be an asset on the floor, both he and Mann HAVE to hit that shot since the other stars will always make that spot wide open.
...

With the current team construction and elite overall playmaking, buyout candidates really should look at LAC as their first option, as it'll be easy to highlight them if they have the right skills.

Besides the win streak, there have been some other nice trends- Theis (obviously!), Coffey playing well and hitting 3's, Kobe Brown playing competently early his rookie season, Norm playing well. After the Harden trade, balancing the roster by moving Norm seemed like the obvious move. It still may be, but if Coffey can continue to hit 3's at a reasonable rate and Kobe continues to develop we will have better depth than we first feared. Norm playing well both highlights his place on the team (especially when we are less than full strength) and increases his trade value.

I think what this enables us to do is shop around for the best roster moves rather than act out of desperation. If there's a team that can actually really use Norm, maybe we can figure out a direct trade or 3-way that brings us a big of equal talent- that would be the ideal scenario. If not, we can keep an eye out for buyouts later to add some supplemental depth.

I wish we could free up some minutes for Bones as he started out the season pretty strong, but that's not happening with Harden, Russ, and Norm. Bones is also a trade candidate- ideally for a young front court player of comparable talent, as I think Bones has rehabbed his image at least somewhat.

We don't have to win any trades here, just hopefully get roughly equal talent in return to balance/ fill out the roster.

[nickhx2]

Theis has done a great job as a stand in backup C, but his lack of girth is obviously noticable and getting Plumlee back will be helpful. Tucker has been worthless as expected and it really hurts that the team literally gave up 4 better PFs in Batum, RoCo, Mook, and KJM for him. Morey really did well in pillaging every asset possible dumping a dead money deal in PJ and hurting the Clips ability to make further trades. However, we have to hope that Kobe Brown keeps developing and with a healthy Plumlee, that Theis can be a competent backup PF as well. Coffey has shown some good things and if he can make that corner 3 consistently he can be an asset on the floor, both he and Mann HAVE to hit that shot since the other stars will always make that spot wide open.
...

With the current team construction and elite overall playmaking, buyout candidates really should look at LAC as their first option, as it'll be easy to highlight them if they have the right skills.

Besides the win streak, there have been some other nice trends- Theis (obviously!), Coffey playing well and hitting 3's, Kobe Brown playing competently early his rookie season, Norm playing well. After the Harden trade, balancing the roster by moving Norm seemed like the obvious move. It still may be, but if Coffey can continue to hit 3's at a reasonable rate and Kobe continues to develop we will have better depth than we first feared. Norm playing well both highlights his place on the team (especially when we are less than full strength) and increases his trade value.

I think what this enables us to do is shop around for the best roster moves rather than act out of desperation. If there's a team that can actually really use Norm, maybe we can figure out a direct trade or 3-way that brings us a big of equal talent- that would be the ideal scenario. If not, we can keep an eye out for buyouts later to add some supplemental depth.

I wish we could free up some minutes for Bones as he started out the season pretty strong, but that's not happening with Harden, Russ, and Norm. Bones is also a trade candidate- ideally for a young front court player of comparable talent, as I think Bones has rehabbed his image at least somewhat.

We don't have to win any trades here, just hopefully get roughly equal talent in return to balance/ fill out the roster.

Agree with this, and wanted to make a post in regards to positive trends a couple games ago as well.

For anyone who reads the GB, there's a post about someone proclaiming the clips to be the best team in the league right now, which, idk, maybe is true? Maybe isn't? Whatever the answer is, though, I'd say is irrelevant because the day to day stuff, game to game stuff, regular season doldrums don't actually produce any tangible items of worth in a vacuum. What IS important, however, are using the games as barometers of progress (or regression).

For us, what I observed that made me really optimistic was lue's putting theis/brown on the floor at the same time, alongside harden/powell/kawhi (i think) and THEN seeing them all move in synchronicity. And that kinda made me form some opinions in regards to progress that

A. one of our lineups that should have been rougher in terms of defense looked pretty good
B. lue's willing to test some things out that aren't completely out of bounds
C. even while experimenting, the experiment looks pretty decent given the expectation of a couple guys that might be out there

So if we're talking about purely defense alone, especially when you have a couple who weren't expected to contribute that much (powell/harden), and it's STILL looking good, then that bodes quite well for us. I mean, we should be really excited, because it should tell us that the team's figuring things out even without our best lineups. Also I'd add that part of the other reason we should be excited on that front is because the guys who I was worried about the most are making solid contributions. Powell really looks like the guy he was brought in to be - a two-way player who wasn't a star on defense, but at least solid in the right place. And harden's obviously not gonna be PG moving all around the court, but his effort is clear and this slapstick defense thing he's doing is actually HILARIOUS (slapstick comedy, get it? hah), because it's so silly but it's WORKING REALLY WELL

And that's not even talking about what I think is the biggest thing in the room, which is zu turning into a god damn force. So, all these things together are some really strong trends on the defensive side which we can be very optimistic about.

On offense I think there's too many to list (kawhi turning into skynet, harden finding seemingly perfect balance in any lineup he's in, zu being a dude around the post, mann finding his shot), but what I think I like the most is seeing powell find a role that seems to fit WITH what we're doing and add to it. I'd say over the past couple years he's been here, it's more or less felt like "normal power time" which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it never truly felt like it was connecting with our offense and mostly kinda like doc rivers telling jamal crawford to go make things happen. And I think I felt like that because it felt like if powell faltered, then the games would go to hell, because it was mostly just him carrying the bench. But now it just looks seamless and like he's just filling in the gap and role of what looks to be a complete offense.

I'd also wanna add that I'm very happy for amir that he's being re-introduced to the rotation because I think he can contribute. I'm not so worried about brown because I think he still needs to find more ways to contribute consistently, but I wonder if this is all lue's re-attempt at wingstop, which i think makes some sense because it wasn't so, so long ago that coffey carried this team for virtually an entire month with our top guys out. So if he really does add another 3/D-ish type presence for us (not expecting it, but hopeful), and plumlee coming back makes us whole and lets theis play more naturally at PF, I'd say end on end that these trends are the ones that would make me feel REALLY good about what this team can actually be.