Lets's be real guys. The Clippers were crowned contenders as soon as Flake Griffin's 'lob city' vid was discovered. And to be honest, i'm absolutely sick of the NBA and ESPN/TNT bias towards this inexperienced group of players that have proven as much as our Rockets in the playoffs. Let's start with the NBA being so obvious in their recent attempts to make the Clippers relevant. -The nixed trade: If Stern was really doing what was best for NO, then that trade would have gone through and the Hornets would be in the middle of a playoff race. The Hornets got significantly less talent in the trade that sent Paul to the Clippers. -Schedule relief: Someone please explain to me why almost every team in the league had played either 33 or 34 games by the all star break, but Sterns Clips had played only 31. Why? Even before the Chris Paul trade, the Clips were a young and up-and-coming team. Needing only practice time and chemistry to become a playoff team. Stern knew all along that the Clips would make a run at Paul, and he was gonna make sure they got him. So the schedule makers just so happen to give this team less games than any other team in the first half of the season. Less games = more practices = better chemistry. Now for ESPN/TNT's role in giving fans the perception of the Clippers being contenders. -Games on National TV: ESPN scheduled 9 Clipper games to be televised before the season even started, and that doesn't even count the ABC games, which is part of ESPN. Add that to TNT/NBATV I bet close to half of their games have been on national TV. -Obsession with Blake Griffin: Am I the only guy that thinks this guy is nothing but a great athlete with potential at this point. ESPN/TNT/NBATV commentators and analysts give him WAY to much credit. Not to mention his nightly visit to the top 10. If you watched the Top 10 tonight, you saw a pair of very average dunks by Griffin at number 3 on the Top 10. Ahead of the vicious ally oops by LBJ and KD tonight. It's like they see a guy jump over the HOOD of a car (kinda) and he's automatically the best Power Forward in the league. Someone show me an elite quality of Blake Griffin other than his hops... You cannot do it. He has no post moves, plays average D at best, and an inconsistent jumper. To wrap it all up, I'll say the Clippers are an okay team. They have a Center that can block shots and, like Blake, can dunk really well. They have absolutely no depth at any position. Caron Butler is OKAY, nothing more nothing less. Randy Foye has no business starting in this league. And to be honest, Chris Paul, while probably a top 3 PG, I think is somewhat (not a ton) overrated. And as a team, they don't play good enough D to be labeled contenders. The Clippers will have a pretty good regular season. But you can book it now, if they play a team with ANY playoff experience, they'll be a 1st round exit. You don't win a championship by throwing lobs! And "Most top 10 appearances" counts for nothing! Flake Griffin and company will fold under the pressure that comes with playoff basketball!
Chris Paul won playoff games throwing lobs in New Orleans and that team was less talented than the one he is currently on. There is more to the clips than throwing lobs.
So stupid, so so so stupid. Now even getting out of the first round with a crap team that solely depends on you doesn't count as an accomplishment, what does then? Getting finals MVP? I bet that in your opinion there are 4 accomplished players in the league. If the Clippers had better coaching they would probably be amongst the top contenders right now, but still they are young and have a promising future, I have no idea what the reason for all the hate is, people just don't like seeing other people do well. and FYI Melo has accomplished a lot, he just isn't being used correctly at the moment and/or has declined, there is no arguing that he was at some point the best offensive player in the league.
Okay that was subjective as hell. What has the nixed trade have to with it? NOTHING. First you cry about them getting tons of attention and coverage. What does that have to do with their value as a team? That part alone shows em you are jealous or pissed at them and that you won't have any objective points for your case. Next all you could say was "I think he has no business as a starter", "I think he's overrated" "he has no moves" while not providing any stats or evidence for your "points". If you watch the games, blake Griffin indeed has post moves, some of them are pretty effective by the way. Foye, Butler and Mo have been huge this year and I expect K-Mart to get better as the season continues. If you see some of the starters on other teams there's no way you say that Foye has "no business" being a starter in this league. He can shoot, dish and plays good defense. Clippers play great as a unit, you'll see that they always look for the open guy and all have good ball-iq and natural instinct. Blake, DeAndre and K-Mart form the most agile and dangerous transition frontcourt in the league. A bench with Mo, Bledsoe, Simmons, Thompkins, Kenyon and Reggie doesn't look that bad to me either. I agree that their defense is not good right now, but that will change, given their athleticsm and ball-iq. When their defense gets better and they get stops they have nearly the same transition potential as the Heat, nearly unstoppable on breaks. They have a great mix of young guys and veterans, good chemistry and the will, you can witness that every game. They have the guys that can light it up from outside and players that can get points in the paint. All can run and dish it, the experience is there, so I don't see how this team is not a contender coming playoff time.
that Hornets team with chandler, west and a peja that was still scoring 17 game was a better team than anything the clippers will become. I agree the clips are nothing special but but but they has starz! so give them a championship too. =/
Their coach is so terrible. I have a lotta faith in Chris Paul though. Maybe too much. I have no faith in Blake in a halfcourt game.
I agree Vinny is terrible and they need to dump him over the summer. I also agree Blake Griffin is overrated but he is a very good player. Maybe next season he improves enough to become an elite player. Because of CP3, Clippers are a dangerous playoff team if they mesh together at the right time. Don't count them out of the West.
Think of it like this: If nobody on the Clippers could dunk the ball really hard, would they still get so much hype in the media? That said, Chris Paul makes almost any above average team a tough out in the playoffs, plain and simple.
^^ Don't see why people would call him terrible. Can any of you go into detail and explain why he "sucks"? Cause he's really doing a good job on the rotations and draws up good plays, he also seems to have no problems with the players.
There's a youtube video by a user called bballbreakdown. I can't access youtube right now. http://www.bballbreakdown.com/why-vinny-del-negro-holds-chris-paul-blake-griffin-back/ Link has teh video
Honestly, I don't watch many Clipper games but I do find the offensive sets nonexistant and its a bunch of hope CP3 does something special. Their offensive seems to be running on pure talent. But I don't watch enough Clipper games to be 100% sure.
They could dunk the ball hard last. Its pretty easy to see why they are getting hyped up. They added arguably the best PG in the game in Chris Paul. Then you add on the fact they added Chauncey Billups and Caron Butler. Well Billups out now but they still have firepower.
