2024-25 Season | Game #68 | Cavs @ Clippers | March 18, 2025 | 10:30 p.m.

Comeback kid said:
If the Clippers stay healthy we’ll see them again in the Finals.
Click to expand...

I think some variation of this has been said every season since the George and Leonard acquisitions and I’ve never believed it. Still don’t. They are a surprisingly good team this year, but I don’t see them winning 3 straight series and the hypothetical doesn’t mean much cause they probably won’t stay healthy anyway.

I will say that it’s kind of impressive that they force themselves into the mix in spite of the injury history of their stars over the years. This season they’ve been great defensively and Harden and Kawhi are both still legit. But it’s not happening for the Clippers.
 
I hope the cavs streak a little more with losses.

We've been playing collectively shittier over the last month or two. I'd rather have the major adversity now, then be completely shell shocked in the playoffs.

I do worry about this being a team that either gets beat way earlier than expected once playoffs start bc of the physical play and slowness of the game.

I worry we are too much of a finesse team.
 
Funny, watching Get Up this morning and Cavs aren’t even in conversation. OKC and BOS favored to win title
 
-Akronite- said:
I think some variation of this has been said every season since the George and Leonard acquisitions and I’ve never believed it. Still don’t. They are a surprisingly good team this year, but I don’t see them winning 3 straight series and the hypothetical doesn’t mean much cause they probably won’t stay healthy anyway.

I will say that it’s kind of impressive that they force themselves into the mix in spite of the injury history of their stars over the years. This season they’ve been great defensively and Harden and Kawhi are both still legit. But it’s not happening for the Clippers.
Click to expand...

I do think the Clippers would be a huge problem for anybody IF they can stay healthy and bring energy.

I completely agree that’s very unlikely. I won’t say they have a 0% chance of being healthy and energetic but their chance is under 5% imho.

They could be a brutal first round matchup and that might be the real story.
 
TheISHT said:
I do worry about this being a team that either gets beat way earlier than expected once playoffs start bc of the physical play and slowness of the game.

I worry we are too much of a finesse team.
Click to expand...
Me, too. We looked like a finesse team against the Clippers. It reminds me of how we got bounced by the Knicks in the playoffs a couple of years back, especially in the second half when the Clippers were dominating the offensive glass.

We can get away with being a finesse team when we're hitting our 3's and getting lobs to Allen and Mobley, but when the shots stop dropping like in the second half against LA when we scored 46 points we're in trouble.

In the playoffs I expect Merrill and Okoro will get fewer minutes while Hunter and Wade get more. Wade was in the game down the stretch last night when we needed defense on Leonard, Bogdanovic, and Harden.

Against the Clippers I kept seeing Garland, Merrill, or Strus guarding James Harden, Leonard, or Boggy. Size mismatch every time. Allen and Mobley were getting pushed under the rim consistently by Zubac. Against teams like this with big wings we need more Hunter and Wade. We can't beat them going small and finesse unless everybody is hitting shots like they were in the first half.

In the playoffs when the game slows down and gets more physical, will the Cavs have an answer? Can they play that style of basketball? Or can they beat those teams playing the finesse game?
 
2 For The Brew said:
So JA is to BLAME because Zubac is bigger and stronger than he is?

Let’s hate Garland for only being 6’1” while we’re at it.
Click to expand...
I'm just going to assume you weren't thinking because it was 1am when you wrote this. Humans can get stronger with work. Humans can't get taller with work.
Don't get me wrong. I love JA, but a 34 yr old TT does a better job against big guys than our borderline all-star C, and that's a flaw.
 
Comeback kid said:
They weren’t making ridiculous shots consistently like last night. I was at the game in OKC. The OKC defense was pretty impressive.
Click to expand...
Yeah, we agree, I think we're just different in how we evaluate team then. I find OKC's defense to be more difficult to beat than LA's improbable shotmaking.
 
Cassity14 said:
Yeah, we agree, I think we're just different in how we evaluate team then. I find OKC's defense to be more difficult to beat than LA's improbable shotmaking.
Click to expand...

Who on OKC could begin to contest Leonard’s shots like Hunter and Wade and Mobley did last night? But they went in anyway. OKC does not really have a tall athletic wing defender.
 
Truth be told (and I think it cuts both ways cause I don't think he cares if he plays or not) but Kawhi Leonard is still that dude...It's a shame we didn't get to see him dominate his prime..

If we played a game 7 of the finals right now and Kawhi was on the other side of the floor I'd be scared to death...Want no parts of that psycho...

He is so effective from anywhere on the floor....The jumper is so flat but yet is so on target... I do really enjoy watching him play...
 
Comeback kid said:
Who on OKC could begin to contest Leonard’s shots like Hunter and Wade and Mobley did last night? But they went in anyway. OKC does not really have a tall athletic wing defender.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure. That said, over the course of 7 games, I'm going to make the Clippers win via contested midrange jumpshots. That's just not an effective path to the championship in today's NBA.

It's aesthetically pleasing when it's working, but it's not a style I'm very scared of when push comes to shove in today's game. If the two teams play, I've got the Thunder is no more than 6. They'll create turnovers and demand to be outscored.
 
PIP said:
Truth be told (and I think it cuts both ways cause I don't think he cares if he plays or not) but Kawhi Leonard is still that dude...It's a shame we didn't get to see him dominate his prime..

If we played a game 7 of the finals right now and Kawhi was on the other side of the floor I'd be scared to death...Want no parts of that psycho...

He is so effective from anywhere on the floor....The jumper is so flat but yet is so on target... I do really enjoy watching him play...
Click to expand...
that 14 ft fadeaway he hit over Wade last night was unbelievable. Dean played him perfectly, but Kawhi must have jumped backwards at least 3 feet, released it high, and somehow still drained it over a 6'9" guy who was right in his grill. Had he remained healthy in his prime years, he would be an absolute legend.
 
  • Love
Reactions: PIP
Dr No said:
that 14 ft fadeaway he hit over Wade last night was unbelievable. Dean played him perfectly, but Kawhi must have jumped backwards at least 3 feet, released it high, and somehow still drained it over a 6'9" guy who was right in his grill. Had he remained healthy in his prime years, he would be an absolute legend.
Click to expand...
Yea... Obviously I believe most of us who have seen MJ play in his prime believe Kobe is the closest thing to him... We never said the same about McGrady or Carter....

Kawhi to me is close tho... He doesn't possess the same athleticism as MJ/Kobe/McGrady/Carter but there's something there in his mid range game, his ability to get to his spot, the trajectory of the jumper.... I can't really explain it cause it's not a mirroring image, but there is something within Kawhi Leonard's game (on both ends) that is Jordanesque-- which yet doesn't stand out like Kobe, cause Kobe is basically a Jordan clone...

Kawhi going to Toronto for 1 season and just casually winning a title & finals MVP does not get the credit it deserves... People care more about KD and KD is nowhere near the class of all around player as Kawhi...But Kawhi barely plays...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top