Beverly is gonna be the game changer with this matchup..Bev plays well,we win.Clippers cant win with Paul struggling.
Containing penetration will be difficult for the Clippers if DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin remain at the same level defensively.
Same with Derrick Rose. All these nut huggers need to realize the LeBron is coming for your point guards and he will shut them down with extreme prejudice.
Should be a good matchup for sure. I slept on the Clippers last year and they surprised me every time I watched them. People's opinions on what Doc will do are polarized, but I am expecting good things out of that team. It won't surprise me in the least if they get a better record than us; in fact I expect it, due to the chemistry factor. I hate the Clippers by default of being associated with LA, however it's refreshing to see them upstage the Fakers.
A team lead by a "world class pg" has never won a ring in recent memory lol. Heat won 2 ring with Mario Chalmers, Dallas won 1 with near retirement Kidd, LA won 2 with Jordan Farmar. Max pgs in the end will always be inferior max bigs and max SGs/Forwards, because the max SG/Foward can do everything the max pg can do except he's 2-3 inches taller. More importantly you can get "decent" pgs at bargain basement prices, while similar quality SGs/SFs and big men cost quite a lot more. As an example you can get really good pgs like Conley JR, Lin, Lowry and Jrue Holiday at under 10M but similar "really good" SFs can go anywhere from 12M to the max. You can even go further and say you can get decent level pgs for min-3M, as we saw with Bev and Brooks.
I think for the Clippers it will come down to how good their defense can be. Can they lock in defensively during that stretch that will win them games? Also, I think why they haven't been good in the playoffs is 2 reasons: 1. Poor individual and team defense (Griffin/Jordan/Crawford are all terrible defenders) 2. Lack of decent coaching leading to a decent offensive system that they can rely on when CP3 is having an off game or is being shutdown. I don't expect the Clippers to do better than the Rockets, why? The Rockets were top 3 in offense last season and were ok on defense. Add a 3 time defensive player of the year and move our best defender last season to the bench brigade (which were terrible defensively last year) will not only make our starting 5 much better defensively, but will make our bench MUCH better defensively as well. Our offense won't get worse, it will get better with Dwight as the best pick and roll man and having someone play in the post. Harden is 1 more year experienced and will not have to carry as much of a load so he can focus on defense a little more. Parsons will have another offseason of developing, Lin will come back healthy and a decent 3pt shot. Jones and D-Mo will have a year under their belt and the whole team will have a training camp together (of which Harden didn't get last season). All this tells me that the Rockets can be top 2 in the West this year and will dominate the Clippers at every meeting and in the standings. The clippers will get better offensively with JJ Reddick and Jared Dudley, but I don't think it will be worlds better. Their defense won't get much better. CP3 will only be able to take them so far so unless Griffin has a breakout season where he averages 25pts a game and becomes a serious rebounder, they still don't have a championship squad.
Add to that they traded away their backup point guard and replaced him with Darren Collison who really wasn't that good last season.
My rough ranking calculations puts rockets at 1626 vs Clippers at 1429 - that gives us an edge of 53:47 at winning. Go rockets!
I believe we will break even with the Clippers (2-2). As far as seeding is concerned they will be the #3 seed and our Rockets #4 seed. Clippers 56-26 Rockets 55-27
It's hard to say until we know for sure what the starting rotation looks like and what kind of improvements our exceptionally young key players have made in their game. Both teams have obvious questions that will need to be answered. the Rockets -Will Asik start? How has his game evolved after his 1st year as a starter? -How has JLins game evolved after his 1st year as a starter? -How has Hardens game evolved after his 1st year as a starter? -If Asik doesn't start who gets the nod at PF? -How about the bench? Garcia, Camby and Brooks are the only known variables. Smith, DMo, Beverley, TJones are all essentially in their 2nd years (yes I know Smith was actually signed 1.5 seasons ago). Isaiah Canaan is a rookie. Williams, Casspi and Brewer are reclamation projects. the Clippers are mostly who they are with a team full of players that have been in their roles for multiple seasons. But there are still obvious questions. -What kind of impact will Doc have on the team? -Will Blake Griffin take a step forward and get back to being a 20+ PPG 12+ RPG player? Will he finally commit to playing defense? -Their bench is pretty much set with Collison, Crawford, Barnes, Odom and Mullins. I'll make a few assumptions at some of these questions and then take my best guess at how well the match up. First I think Doc is going to have a positive impact on the Clippers. I think he will demand real defense out of DeAndre Jordan and not just week side shot blocking. I think he will improve Blake's defense as well as the entire teams defense. I think Griffin will take the next step in his game this season. For Houston: I think JLin will show the most noticable improvement from game 1. I think he will be a deadly 3 point shooter with the ability to drive to the basket and solid but not spectacular defense. I think Harden and CP25 will both be improved as well but it is not very likely to show up much in any stats sheet. I think Asik and Howard will start together in the front court anchoring the best defense in the NBA. I think either Howard or Asik will be able to guard power forwards/centers out on the floor or in the post. One of Asik or Howard will be on the court at all times. I think Beverley will be what he was last season, a terrific defensive point guard capable of knocking down the 3. Garcia, Cambi, Smith, TJones and Casspi will get the most time off of the bench with some DMo sprinkled in and some Canaan towards the 2nd half of the season. Center: Asik > Jordan - by a lot Power Forward: Howard > Griffin - they will be pretty equal on offense but Howard is the better rebounder, shot blocker and a superior defender in every way. Small Forward: CP25 > Jarred Dudley - this one is really close IMO because I think Dudley is one of those players that is really underrated and playing with CP3 will really make him better. But I still give the advantage to CP25. Shooting Guard: Harden > Reddick - Reddick is a really good player that will fit really well next to CP3. He will be a plus player for the Clipps on most nights, but Harden is the best shooting guard in the league, period. Big advantage to the Rockets. Point Guard JLin < CP3 - no surprise here, CP3 is a top 3 player in the league. The Bench: Rockets < Clippers - I think the Rockets bench could be better but there are just too many question marks at this point. Camby and Brooks are likely to only get spot minutes which means Garcia and Beverly are the only players with defined roles off of the bench. Smith, TJones and DMo will likeley fight it out over the scraps left over by Asik and Howard. We don't know for sure how the rest will shake out. The Clipps basically know the roles of its bench players. The Coach: McHale < Doc - another match up that I think is going to be close but you have to give the edge to a coach that has been to multiple NBA championships and won one.
I have the Clips as the #1 regular season team in the West for next season. As far as being a formidable playoff team, that's the sketchy part for me. And yes, having Doc Rivers calling the shots will be a significant upgrade over a mediocre Del Negro. Doc is a great coach and it'll show next season with the Clips. Chris Paul-Darren Collison Jj Redick-Jamal Crawford Jared Dudley-Matt Barnes Blake Griffin-Byron Mullens DeAndre Jordan-RyanHollins That roster is deep. Filled with nice role players, defenders, and flat out sharp shooters led by the best point guard and one of the top coaches in the league. Thing is, we would own them in a 7-game series. Their bigs won't stand a chance against Dwight and Omer.
I'm not as high on the Clippers as some. Why? I just don't think Griffin is as good as some people make him out to be.
Htownballer I wouldn't advise betting on a 53:47 odds it's still too close for comfort likely for the season we may see a 2:2 split but I think rockets have the edge come playoff time...
