Lakers are 17-2, did their front office outmanuever the Celtics?

[Moranis]

Does anyone seriously think Lakers can beat the Clippers in a 7 game series? Because I just don't see it.

Can, absolutely.  Not sure they will, but the Lakers absolutely can beat the Clippers in a series.  Davis is a big problem for the Clippers as I don't think George or Leonard can handle guarding him full time and they really don't have anyone else I would trust guarding him.  I mean the other options are Zubac, Harkless, Green, and Patterson and I wouldn't trust any of them to be able to guard Davis with any consistency.  So I see Davis as the key to that series.  If he plays up to his full potential, I think the Lakers probably win the series, if he doesn't, then the Clippers probably win.

Doesn't the same question also applies to who's guarding Paul George, let alone Kawhi?

I think James on George and a combination of Green/Bradley on Leonard isn't nearly as bad as whoever tries to guard Davis.  Obvious mismatch for Kawhi in that situation, but not nearly as bad a mismatch as the Clippers trying to guard Davis.

[Donoghus]

Does anyone seriously think Lakers can beat the Clippers in a 7 game series? Because I just don't see it.

Can, absolutely.  Not sure they will, but the Lakers absolutely can beat the Clippers in a series.  Davis is a big problem for the Clippers as I don't think George or Leonard can handle guarding him full time and they really don't have anyone else I would trust guarding him.  I mean the other options are Zubac, Harkless, Green, and Patterson and I wouldn't trust any of them to be able to guard Davis with any consistency.  So I see Davis as the key to that series.  If he plays up to his full potential, I think the Lakers probably win the series, if he doesn't, then the Clippers probably win.

Doesn't the same question also applies to who's guarding Paul George, let alone Kawhi?

I think James on George and a combination of Green/Bradley on Leonard isn't nearly as bad as whoever tries to guard Davis.  Obvious mismatch for Kawhi in that situation, but not nearly as bad a mismatch as the Clippers trying to guard Davis.

Wonder how a 35 year old LBJ holds up in a hard fought series having to play full effort on both ends of the floor the entire series? Does he suffer on the offensive end? 

I don't think Lakers have the horses to win the series.   

[ETNCeltics]

IMO LAC would whip the LAL in a 7 game series, and it wouldn't be close. Just more good players and old man Lebron won't be able to keep up with Kawhi and PG.

[CelticsPoetry]

Does anyone seriously think Lakers can beat the Clippers in a 7 game series? Because I just don't see it.

Can, absolutely.  Not sure they will, but the Lakers absolutely can beat the Clippers in a series.  Davis is a big problem for the Clippers as I don't think George or Leonard can handle guarding him full time and they really don't have anyone else I would trust guarding him.  I mean the other options are Zubac, Harkless, Green, and Patterson and I wouldn't trust any of them to be able to guard Davis with any consistency.  So I see Davis as the key to that series.  If he plays up to his full potential, I think the Lakers probably win the series, if he doesn't, then the Clippers probably win.

Doesn't the same question also applies to who's guarding Paul George, let alone Kawhi?

I think James on George and a combination of Green/Bradley on Leonard isn't nearly as bad as whoever tries to guard Davis.  Obvious mismatch for Kawhi in that situation, but not nearly as bad a mismatch as the Clippers trying to guard Davis.

Have you seen Smart and Brown try to defed Kawhi? They're no slouches, but he owned them completely. Bradley and Green are too small and too weak to defend him, Kawhi is one strong dude.

[tazzmaniac]

Does anyone seriously think Lakers can beat the Clippers in a 7 game series? Because I just don't see it.

Can, absolutely.  Not sure they will, but the Lakers absolutely can beat the Clippers in a series.  Davis is a big problem for the Clippers as I don't think George or Leonard can handle guarding him full time and they really don't have anyone else I would trust guarding him.  I mean the other options are Zubac, Harkless, Green, and Patterson and I wouldn't trust any of them to be able to guard Davis with any consistency.  So I see Davis as the key to that series.  If he plays up to his full potential, I think the Lakers probably win the series, if he doesn't, then the Clippers probably win.

Doesn't the same question also applies to who's guarding Paul George, let alone Kawhi?

I think James on George and a combination of Green/Bradley on Leonard isn't nearly as bad as whoever tries to guard Davis.  Obvious mismatch for Kawhi in that situation, but not nearly as bad a mismatch as the Clippers trying to guard Davis.

Wonder how a 35 year old LBJ holds up in a hard fought series having to play full effort on both ends of the floor the entire series? Does he suffer on the offensive end? 

I don't think Lakers have the horses to win the series.

In the playoffs, there are no B2Bs and sometimes there are 2 days off between games in a series.  I expect the Lakers will pickup another wing at the deadline or in buyout market (e.g. Iggy).  How's Kawhi going to hold up in a hard fought series? 

[Fafnir]

In the playoffs, there are no B2Bs and sometimes there are 2 days off between games in a series.  I expect the Lakers will pickup another wing at the deadline or in buyout market (e.g. Iggy).  How's Kawhi going to hold up in a hard fought series?

For an example of how he holds up see the 2018-2019 NBA playoffs.

[Fafnir]

I think the Lakers/Clippers hypothetical series will turn on how well the Lakers match up with the Clippers with Davis at the 5. They've essentially played Davis at the 4 for most of this year, in large part because Dwight has been so good (and their guards so bad) that they would rather play big than small.

I think they need another wing/guard badly if the Clippers can force them out of their big lineup.

[Somebody]

I think you're putting too much emphasis on a specific type of offence: crunch time scoring.

When was the last time the best player in the league was not widely regarded as the best or among the best in terms of crunch time scoring?


When was the last time the undisputed alpha dog of the league was a big man who relied on others to get him the ball?


I think you'd have to go back at least a decade; the league has changed a great deal since then.  (see for example the recent Ringer article about the death of the post-up)

Last year with a certain Greek forward-centre? Also KG can handle the ball by himself, he doesn't need to be fed like a traditional big. I'm highly skeptical whether you actually realise how valuable KG was if you think his offence would be post up heavy in the modern NBA with his skillset.

Btw you're still fixated on crunch time scoring and the narrative driven "alpha dog" moniker, there's so much more to player impact than one small facet on one end of the court.

[Somebody]

And Davis will be like 30 and may very well be the best player in the world. 

Davis is not nearly the best player in the world right now, and I would be surprised if he is in that conversation 3 years from now.

I'm not sure any player could really be in that discussion in today's league unless they have the ability to handle the ball at the point of attack and create a high volume of three pointers, either by driving the ball and kicking to open teammates or pulling up from deep.  I don't think Davis is that kind of player.

To be fair he can polish his passing, finishing and shooting to the point that he'd be the perfect big man in the PnR/PnP with a strong post game to generate his own offence if needed, and improve his defence to top of the pack rim protector levels. The offence of Garnett plus the defence of David Robinson is certainly a contender for the best player in the league (ntm a top 15 peak ever!).

I'm not saying that he will do all of this, but there's a path for him to be the best player in the league.

Honestly, in today's league, I'm just not sure a big man like a Garnett or a Robinson could be the clear cut best player.  The league is so skewed toward creating three point shots, and the best players at doing that are guys who can both pull up and drive.

When it comes to late game situations, defenses tend to be really good at making it hard for big men to get the ball.  Unless you can catch the ball behind the arc and work your way to your preferred spot, it's hard to be "the man."  We've seen that with Joel Embiid.



It's looking like we're entering the era of Giannis and Luka.

I think you're putting too much emphasis on a specific type of offence: crunch time scoring.

A big man like Garnett or Robinson would be amazing in today's league due to their portability: their skills (passing, shooting, defence, finishing) scale up on good teams and are immensely valuable on bad teams with players being more offensively slanted nowadays (at least I think the average perimeter player is better at offence than their counterparts in the past) as their skills unlock the potential of teammates who can create their own offence, ntm their defence would still be incredibly valuable due to their horizontal strengths. There's only so much value in that specific kind of scoring, a player can have a huge impact on the game by having other types of strengths on both ends of the court.

Well the best teams in recent years have been the raptors, warriors, rockets and cavs (and prior to that the lebron heat).

The best center of those groups (bogut, tristan thompson, old gasol, capela) have never really been all-stars. I don't even think the power forwards (which have been better) were the second best players on those teams (ibaka, draymond, love, tucker, bosh).

That's only due to the lack of big man talent in the league, not because of elite big men being unable to be the centrepiece of championship teams, especially the type of scalable big man I was talking about.

[Moranis]

Does anyone seriously think Lakers can beat the Clippers in a 7 game series? Because I just don't see it.

Can, absolutely.  Not sure they will, but the Lakers absolutely can beat the Clippers in a series.  Davis is a big problem for the Clippers as I don't think George or Leonard can handle guarding him full time and they really don't have anyone else I would trust guarding him.  I mean the other options are Zubac, Harkless, Green, and Patterson and I wouldn't trust any of them to be able to guard Davis with any consistency.  So I see Davis as the key to that series.  If he plays up to his full potential, I think the Lakers probably win the series, if he doesn't, then the Clippers probably win.

Doesn't the same question also applies to who's guarding Paul George, let alone Kawhi?

I think James on George and a combination of Green/Bradley on Leonard isn't nearly as bad as whoever tries to guard Davis.  Obvious mismatch for Kawhi in that situation, but not nearly as bad a mismatch as the Clippers trying to guard Davis.

Wonder how a 35 year old LBJ holds up in a hard fought series having to play full effort on both ends of the floor the entire series? Does he suffer on the offensive end? 

I don't think Lakers have the horses to win the series.

But the Clippers do?  That seems like a strange take.  Let's just call Davis/James vs. George/Leonard a wash (it is fairly close either way) after that, what are you left with

LAC - Beverly, Williams, Harkless, Harrell, Shamet, Green, Zubac, Patterson, McGruder, Robinson
LAL - Green, KCP, Howard, Kuzma, McGee, Caruso, Bradley, Cook, Daniels, Rondo

Those are everyone that has played at least 200 minutes this year.  I might just favor the Lakers given their much greater high level playoff experience.

That is why I think the series comes down to Davis.

[Donoghus]

Does anyone seriously think Lakers can beat the Clippers in a 7 game series? Because I just don't see it.

Can, absolutely.  Not sure they will, but the Lakers absolutely can beat the Clippers in a series.  Davis is a big problem for the Clippers as I don't think George or Leonard can handle guarding him full time and they really don't have anyone else I would trust guarding him.  I mean the other options are Zubac, Harkless, Green, and Patterson and I wouldn't trust any of them to be able to guard Davis with any consistency.  So I see Davis as the key to that series.  If he plays up to his full potential, I think the Lakers probably win the series, if he doesn't, then the Clippers probably win.

Doesn't the same question also applies to who's guarding Paul George, let alone Kawhi?

I think James on George and a combination of Green/Bradley on Leonard isn't nearly as bad as whoever tries to guard Davis.  Obvious mismatch for Kawhi in that situation, but not nearly as bad a mismatch as the Clippers trying to guard Davis.

Wonder how a 35 year old LBJ holds up in a hard fought series having to play full effort on both ends of the floor the entire series? Does he suffer on the offensive end? 

I don't think Lakers have the horses to win the series.

But the Clippers do?  That seems like a strange take.  Let's just call Davis/James vs. George/Leonard a wash (it is fairly close either way) after that, what are you left with

LAC - Beverly, Williams, Harkless, Harrell, Shamet, Green, Zubac, Patterson, McGruder, Robinson
LAL - Green, KCP, Howard, Kuzma, McGee, Caruso, Bradley, Cook, Daniels, Rondo

Those are everyone that has played at least 200 minutes this year.  I might just favor the Lakers given their much greater high level playoff experience.

That is why I think the series comes down to Davis.

What's strange about it?  Clippers have more depth, IMO and won't be relying on their 35 year old alpha to bust his butt off on both ends of the floor in extended minutes.  This isn't hard to grasp.

Now, the health of both PG & Kawhi will be the biggest wild cards.  If healthy,  I think Clippers take that series and its not really a hot take either.

In the playoffs, there are no B2Bs and sometimes there are 2 days off between games in a series.  I expect the Lakers will pickup another wing at the deadline or in buyout market (e.g. Iggy).  How's Kawhi going to hold up in a hard fought series?

For an example of how he holds up see the 2018-2019 NBA playoffs.

Exactly.

[Moranis]

Does anyone seriously think Lakers can beat the Clippers in a 7 game series? Because I just don't see it.

Can, absolutely.  Not sure they will, but the Lakers absolutely can beat the Clippers in a series.  Davis is a big problem for the Clippers as I don't think George or Leonard can handle guarding him full time and they really don't have anyone else I would trust guarding him.  I mean the other options are Zubac, Harkless, Green, and Patterson and I wouldn't trust any of them to be able to guard Davis with any consistency.  So I see Davis as the key to that series.  If he plays up to his full potential, I think the Lakers probably win the series, if he doesn't, then the Clippers probably win.

Doesn't the same question also applies to who's guarding Paul George, let alone Kawhi?

I think James on George and a combination of Green/Bradley on Leonard isn't nearly as bad as whoever tries to guard Davis.  Obvious mismatch for Kawhi in that situation, but not nearly as bad a mismatch as the Clippers trying to guard Davis.

Wonder how a 35 year old LBJ holds up in a hard fought series having to play full effort on both ends of the floor the entire series? Does he suffer on the offensive end? 

I don't think Lakers have the horses to win the series.

But the Clippers do?  That seems like a strange take.  Let's just call Davis/James vs. George/Leonard a wash (it is fairly close either way) after that, what are you left with

LAC - Beverly, Williams, Harkless, Harrell, Shamet, Green, Zubac, Patterson, McGruder, Robinson
LAL - Green, KCP, Howard, Kuzma, McGee, Caruso, Bradley, Cook, Daniels, Rondo

Those are everyone that has played at least 200 minutes this year.  I might just favor the Lakers given their much greater high level playoff experience.

That is why I think the series comes down to Davis.

What's strange about it?  Clippers have more depth, IMO and won't be relying on their 35 year old alpha to bust his butt off on both ends of the floor in extended minutes.  This isn't hard to grasp.

Now, the health of both PG & Kawhi will be the biggest wild cards.  If healthy,  I think Clippers take that series and its not really a hot take either.

I don't look at those lineups and see the Clippers as having more depth.  I'd rather have that Lakers unit.  They have far more big game experience and are just better overall.  I also think Kuzma has the most potential to really hit out of any one in those units.  The Lakers definitely have more potential for an implosion or injuries though from those units.  But as of now, I'd rather have the Lakers second tier players. 

[Vox_Populi]

Does anyone seriously think Lakers can beat the Clippers in a 7 game series? Because I just don't see it.

Can, absolutely.  Not sure they will, but the Lakers absolutely can beat the Clippers in a series.  Davis is a big problem for the Clippers as I don't think George or Leonard can handle guarding him full time and they really don't have anyone else I would trust guarding him.  I mean the other options are Zubac, Harkless, Green, and Patterson and I wouldn't trust any of them to be able to guard Davis with any consistency.  So I see Davis as the key to that series.  If he plays up to his full potential, I think the Lakers probably win the series, if he doesn't, then the Clippers probably win.

Doesn't the same question also applies to who's guarding Paul George, let alone Kawhi?

I think James on George and a combination of Green/Bradley on Leonard isn't nearly as bad as whoever tries to guard Davis.  Obvious mismatch for Kawhi in that situation, but not nearly as bad a mismatch as the Clippers trying to guard Davis.

Wonder how a 35 year old LBJ holds up in a hard fought series having to play full effort on both ends of the floor the entire series? Does he suffer on the offensive end? 

I don't think Lakers have the horses to win the series.

But the Clippers do?  That seems like a strange take.  Let's just call Davis/James vs. George/Leonard a wash (it is fairly close either way) after that, what are you left with

LAC - Beverly, Williams, Harkless, Harrell, Shamet, Green, Zubac, Patterson, McGruder, Robinson
LAL - Green, KCP, Howard, Kuzma, McGee, Caruso, Bradley, Cook, Daniels, Rondo

Those are everyone that has played at least 200 minutes this year.  I might just favor the Lakers given their much greater high level playoff experience.

That is why I think the series comes down to Davis.

Clippers have a comical amount of good NBA players.

[Moranis]

Does anyone seriously think Lakers can beat the Clippers in a 7 game series? Because I just don't see it.

Can, absolutely.  Not sure they will, but the Lakers absolutely can beat the Clippers in a series.  Davis is a big problem for the Clippers as I don't think George or Leonard can handle guarding him full time and they really don't have anyone else I would trust guarding him.  I mean the other options are Zubac, Harkless, Green, and Patterson and I wouldn't trust any of them to be able to guard Davis with any consistency.  So I see Davis as the key to that series.  If he plays up to his full potential, I think the Lakers probably win the series, if he doesn't, then the Clippers probably win.

Doesn't the same question also applies to who's guarding Paul George, let alone Kawhi?

I think James on George and a combination of Green/Bradley on Leonard isn't nearly as bad as whoever tries to guard Davis.  Obvious mismatch for Kawhi in that situation, but not nearly as bad a mismatch as the Clippers trying to guard Davis.

Wonder how a 35 year old LBJ holds up in a hard fought series having to play full effort on both ends of the floor the entire series? Does he suffer on the offensive end? 

I don't think Lakers have the horses to win the series.

But the Clippers do?  That seems like a strange take.  Let's just call Davis/James vs. George/Leonard a wash (it is fairly close either way) after that, what are you left with

LAC - Beverly, Williams, Harkless, Harrell, Shamet, Green, Zubac, Patterson, McGruder, Robinson
LAL - Green, KCP, Howard, Kuzma, McGee, Caruso, Bradley, Cook, Daniels, Rondo

Those are everyone that has played at least 200 minutes this year.  I might just favor the Lakers given their much greater high level playoff experience.

That is why I think the series comes down to Davis.

Clippers have a comical amount of good NBA players.

and the Lakers don't?

[Vox_Populi]

Does anyone seriously think Lakers can beat the Clippers in a 7 game series? Because I just don't see it.

Can, absolutely.  Not sure they will, but the Lakers absolutely can beat the Clippers in a series.  Davis is a big problem for the Clippers as I don't think George or Leonard can handle guarding him full time and they really don't have anyone else I would trust guarding him.  I mean the other options are Zubac, Harkless, Green, and Patterson and I wouldn't trust any of them to be able to guard Davis with any consistency.  So I see Davis as the key to that series.  If he plays up to his full potential, I think the Lakers probably win the series, if he doesn't, then the Clippers probably win.

Doesn't the same question also applies to who's guarding Paul George, let alone Kawhi?

I think James on George and a combination of Green/Bradley on Leonard isn't nearly as bad as whoever tries to guard Davis.  Obvious mismatch for Kawhi in that situation, but not nearly as bad a mismatch as the Clippers trying to guard Davis.

Wonder how a 35 year old LBJ holds up in a hard fought series having to play full effort on both ends of the floor the entire series? Does he suffer on the offensive end? 

I don't think Lakers have the horses to win the series.

But the Clippers do?  That seems like a strange take.  Let's just call Davis/James vs. George/Leonard a wash (it is fairly close either way) after that, what are you left with

LAC - Beverly, Williams, Harkless, Harrell, Shamet, Green, Zubac, Patterson, McGruder, Robinson
LAL - Green, KCP, Howard, Kuzma, McGee, Caruso, Bradley, Cook, Daniels, Rondo

Those are everyone that has played at least 200 minutes this year.  I might just favor the Lakers given their much greater high level playoff experience.

That is why I think the series comes down to Davis.

Clippers have a comical amount of good NBA players.

and the Lakers don't?

I would say clearly not to the same extent. I imagine the Clippers have a more balanced scoring distribution considering Lou or Harrell get 20 once every two or three games.