Given their record, knowing that Kawhi is not the humble dude people are making him out to be and how they need to work around the load management and bringing in 2 superstars, will they just figure it all out? I think they might have struggles like this for the rest of the year at least with health and adjusting. They're definitely not the juggernaut I and a lot of people expected them to be. They're not playing lockdown defense and are up and down with lineup changes, but whatever happens record wise, it's a worrying sign that some players are not down with the preferential treatment that I'm sure Kawhi is getting, PG probably too. They're whole culture was based on the whole team matters, heart and soul with Bev, Trez & Lou are all role players and they gave the Warriors fits. So obviously the balance is off. Now is it true or just because of some losses someone is trying to make a story that sounds believable? I could see that being true, but I had definitely overlooked the fact that bringing in 2 superstars at the same time, one being a diva to a degree, will impact a team like that way more with all the attention and everything else. What y'all make of this?
Something or nothing? I'm gonna say closer to nothing. Spoiler https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-r...erential-treatment-kawhi-leonard-paul-george/ https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-r...res-more-about-individual-stats-over-winning/ https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-rumors-kawhi-leonard-has-led-players-only-film-sessions/ https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-r...-and-bowling-to-shake-off-some-strange-vibes/ https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-r...to-go-over-film-after-narrow-win-over-knicks/ https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-r...-to-skip-back-to-backs-for-injury-management/ https://clutchpoints.com/clippers-r...ter-his-comments-following-loss-to-grizzlies/ Off the court, sources say there are some teammates who have struggled with the organization’s preferential treatment that is afforded to Leonard and George. On the one hand, this sort of superstar handling is somewhat commonplace in the NBA. Case in point: LeBron James has a significant voice in Laker Land, where he frequently coordinates practice and shoot-around schedules with coach Frank Vogel depending on what they believe is best for the team at that time. ... “I think it boils down to Kawhi not talking, and so who is their true leader?” one source with knowledge of the Clippers’ dynamics said. “How do you get around that?” He isn’t necessarily standoffish, sources say, and there are times when he lives up to that “Fun Guy” reputation that has become part of his one-of-a-kind profile — even more so recently as he’s grown more comfortable around his teammates. He’s certainly more talkative and playful behind the scenes than in front of the media, when he rarely says a word outside of the scrum of reporters who speak to him, on average, for a few minutes at a time. But there can be a tangible distance, sources say. ... But that, combined with the team’s constant injuries, the front-loaded schedule and Leonard’s injury management, has created a lighter mood and approach to practices. Multiple players, according to league sources, don’t feel the team practices as hard or as seriously as it should at this point in the season. ... According to The Athletic, some Clippers players were rubbed the wrong way by Harrell’s comments because they think he cares more about individual stats over winning: Tension had been quietly building in the locker room, according to multiple sources, but Montrezl Harrell’s comments confirmed the uncomfortability some felt. The comments also rubbed certain players the wrong way, as they feel that Harrell’s post-game mood can be dictated more by his individual box-score performance than the game’s outcome, according to sources. A source close to Harrell, via The Athletic, however, refutes that notion and says he’s only worried about winning an NBA Championship. Sources close to Harrell, however, refute the idea that his focus is on anything but the common championship goal. “Everything he does is out of his passion for winning,” one source said. “He kind of walks to his own beat a little bit, but it’s not from a selfish perspective at all.” ... As Kawhi Leonard has grown more comfortable with his teammates, he’s taken on more of a vocal leadership role within the locker room, including coordinating the team’s players-only film sessions that multiple players and coaches have cited as the key to their recent turnaround after a rocky start to 2020, according to sources. ... To shake off some of the strange vibes, several players decided to round up players for dinner and bowling on their second day off, according to league sources. Interacting off of the floor has never been a problem for the group, which has enjoyed off-court activities like paintballing, fishing and movie-screening before and during the season. ... The homestand against the Grizzlies and the Knicks was something of a wake-up call for the Clippers. With four days off before their next game, six players — Leonard, George, Williams, Beverley, Harrell and Harkless — met with Doc Rivers for three hours to go over film and discuss what had been plaguing the team, according to sources. ... Conceptually, the practice of “load management” has the ability to be a locker room landmine if ever there was one for any top-tier team. Players who are fighting through the grind of an 82-game season might see that, well, loaded phrase and liken it to someone being approved for days off that they view as unnecessary. Quotes about the topic around the league show that most players either don’t understand or are against the notion. According to Clippers sources, that’s precisely why they refer to Kawhi Leonard’s situation more accurately as ‘injury management.’ As The Athletic reported in early November, the fact that Leonard was not considered a “fully healthy player” meant he would sit out as often as the doctors advised this season. Sources say the medical advice, at present, still mandates that he not play in back-to-back games — hence the fact that he sat out against the Hawks despite the fact that the team was already without two other key players. ... Montrezl Harrell had spoken his truth, telling the world on Jan. 4, after a 26-point home loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, about the frustrations that had surfaced inside the Clippers’ complicated locker room. Now it was Doc Rivers’ turn. The 58-year-old, who is one of just six current NBA head coaches to have won a title, has been known to take the head-on approach to discussing disagreements with his players, and so it was that he decided to address Harrell’s unfiltered media session from the afternoon before. With his Clippers set to host the New York Knicks that afternoon in the second of a home back-to-back set, sources say Rivers lit into his team in the pregame meeting and directed his ire at Harrell multiple times in reference to the comments he had made.
Something like this were to happen to the Rockets . .. it would be the lead story every where whether it was true or not But I will say .. Kawhi was good with the Raptors players.. . but it was only for one season . .. and they knew it going in Now . . . these players seems to sound like the Spurs did his last year there They were all questioning him and his team etc Rocket River
you know how it is they dont want negative story lines on the clippers because they are looking for a major payday with them and the Lakers in the Western conf finals
Thats the difference betweem their org and ours. Stated from the beginnin, the rest are role players here to back harden and wb da stars. If u state it from beginnin less likely for chemistry to b disrupted
@YOLO -- need a ruling ... is a players-only film session really a disguised players-only meeting? Once they shut the door, how do we know they watch the "film" vs take sides and b**** at each other.
They prefer their ceiling being a team that beats a contender twice in the playoffs only because they weren't taken seriously? This is true.
I think there biggest obstacle for a championship will be size, unless Doc starts playing Zubac 35 mins a night, I don't see how they could possibly deal with Howard, McGee, Davis and LBJ in the paint, and even if they somehow escaped the Lakers, Giannis and Lopez likely awaits in the finals. This is interesting, I see PG and KL missing a lot of games, leaving Lou/Harrell/Bev and everybody else to fend for themselves, I guess this is pissing them off, that the big boys can just skip games whenever they feel like it.
At least, Pop was fair with it, load management for all players. He didn't quite learn all of Pop's tricks.
Typical bullshit came from Lakers/LeBron side. Clippers probably need an upgrade over Zubac,that's their problem. Other than that they are fine.
Yup and get paid more doing it. This sounds a lot like KD not being accepted as a true warrior. Lou/Harrell/Bev probably feel they are the "native clippers"..
