2020 End of Season / Playoffs

[G__Deane]

At least you still have wildfires, COVID and the nice weather Kawhi. If New Balance was public, the stock would be dropping off a cliff

Pundits are saying they pretty much have to run it back to be able to trade but need a veteran PG
​

[S.R.]

He’s not wrong. Everyone is letting Kawhi off the hook. Leonard was awful in this series and brutal in fourth quarters. He never raised his teammates level.

Not to overreact to one weird COVID season, but 2 other LAC concerns he pointed out:
- This was the first team Kawhi really had to lead and it didn't go well at all. Can Kawhi be the team leader and not just the best player? Tbd.
- Kawhi really looks to be fragile. He was pretty hobbled rounds 3+4 last year but the Raps as a unit kept it rolling. This 2nd round he clearly burned out in 2nd halves. Is Kawhi durable enough to be a reliable high level player year over year? Tbd.

[golden]

Not to overreact to one weird COVID season, but 2 other LAC concerns he pointed out:
- This was the first team Kawhi really had to lead and it didn't go well at all. Can Kawhi be the team leader and not just the best player? Tbd.
- Kawhi really looks to be fragile. He was pretty hobbled rounds 3+4 last year but the Raps as a unit kept it rolling. This 2nd round he clearly burned out in 2nd halves. Is Kawhi durable enough to be a reliable high level player year over year? Tbd.

The bubble schedule was pretty grueling for him, probably. Yes, the lack of travel is a big benefit, but I don't think Kawhi's quad can handle playing every other night for weeks on end. There was some crazy stat that showed his production drop-off massively in the second half and 4th quarters. Last year, we saw Kawhi's body breaking down after the Bucks series... which was a game every other night. It looks like he needs multiple days to recover and still play at his peak.

Makes you appreciate the conditioning of this year's Raptors team - playing heavy minutes, short rotations and playing so hard every minute on the floor.

[planetmars]

I thought Kawhi had a good series.. just a terribly bad game 7. He isn't a great leader, but was that ever really a problem? Why does the best, most talented player also have to be the leader? I hate when good talented people are thrusted into leadership roles. Not everyone can lead, and not everyone should lead.

MJ and Kobe were terrible leaders. Selfish to a fault really. But they were exceptional talented players.

Take out game 7 and he averaged 26, 9, 5.8 with 2.3 steals, and 1.2 blocks against Denver. He had a TS of 58.6%. And an average game score of 23.1.

Kawhi's game 7 was an abomination and he needs to wear that. But he had a good overall series. His team however, not so much. Especially Harrell and Lou.

[The Great One]

Kawhi didn't look right in that series against Denver. Remember what he said to Rachel Nichols after the Raptors won the championship last year? he said that the Bucks series really challenged him because of the schedule. The Raptors and the Bucks played every other day in their series.

Pretty sure Kawhi played every other day for the Clippers since the restart. I don't thin they load managed him.

[planetmars]

The bubble schedule was pretty grueling for him, probably. Yes, the lack of travel is a big benefit, but I don't think Kawhi's quad can handle playing every other night for weeks on end. There was some crazy stat that showed his production drop-off massively in the second half and 4th quarters. Last year, we saw Kawhi's body breaking down after the Bucks series... which was a game every other night. It looks like he needs multiple days to recover and still play at his peak.

Makes you appreciate the conditioning of this year's Raptors team - playing heavy minutes, short rotations and playing so hard every minute on the floor.

Raptors were playing like they were dead in Game 7.. especially Lowry and Siakam. I think conditioning for the Raptors wasn't that great either. Kyle is 34 so he has that excuse. Siakam usually has a motor that never quits and it was leaking oil.

[S.R.]

I thought Kawhi had a good series.. just a terribly bad game 7. He isn't a great leader, but was that ever really a problem? Why does the best, most talented player also have to be the leader? I hate when good talented people are thrusted into leadership roles. Not everyone can lead, and not everyone should lead.

MJ and Kobe were terrible leaders. Selfish to a fault really. But they were exceptional talented players.

Take out game 7 and he averaged 26, 9, 5.8 with 2.3 steals, and 1.2 blocks against Denver. He had a TS of 58.6%. And an average game score of 23.1.

Kawhi's game 7 was an abomination and he needs to wear that. But he had a good overall series. His team however, not so much. Especially Harrell and Lou.

Kawhi's second half and 4th quarter stats were awful for all of games 5-7, not just game 7. And the Clippers blew double digit second half leads in all three games.

Your best player has to help you close out wins, and Kawhi couldn't do that - 3 games in a row.

Whether or not he needs to be your leader depends on the context. I think it's pretty clear that Clips team lacked leadership. I'm a bit surprised Doc couldn't provide more of it tbh, that's supposed to be his strength. But their knuckleheads ran amok all season & into the post season and they didn't have good chemistry at all - that's partly lack of reps but partly lack of leadership, too. Nobody pulled those guys together to the level needed for a deep playoff run when you're up against other top teams only. Kawhi demanded a semi-overhaul of that roster and brought in himself and Paul George on demand, the team's two best players. So in that situation I think yes, Kawhi is definitely responsible for stepping into leadership there. It's very different than the SAS and TOR contexts he stepped into.

[The Great One]

Don't want this guy or Westbrook anywhere near my team.

[planetmars]

Kawhi's second half and 4th quarter stats were awful for all of games 5-7, not just game 7. And the Clippers blew double digit second half leads in all three games.

Your best player has to help you close out wins, and Kawhi couldn't do that - 3 games in a row.

Whether or not he needs to be your leader depends on the context. I think it's pretty clear that Clips team lacked leadership. I'm a bit surprised Doc couldn't provide more of it tbh, that's supposed to be his strength. But their knuckleheads ran amok all season & into the post season and they didn't have good chemistry at all - that's partly lack of reps but partly lack of leadership, too. Nobody pulled those guys together to the level needed for a deep playoff run when you're up against other top teams only. Kawhi demanded a semi-overhaul of that roster and brought in himself and Paul George on demand, the team's two best players. So in that situation I think yes, Kawhi is definitely responsible for stepping into leadership there. It's very different than the SAS and TOR contexts he stepped into.

I didn't break down his second half stats:

Game 1 - 4 for 5 for 10 points
Game 2 - 0 for 6 for 4 points
Game 3 - 3 for 11 for 9 points
Game 4 - 4 for 10 for 13 points
Game 5 - 6 for 14 for 22 points
Game 6 - 3 for 10 for 11 points
Game 7 - 1 for 11 for 2 points


He was good in Game 1 (plenty of rest). He was okay in Game 5. Not the most efficient, but still put up 22 points in the half. Was pretty bad every other game, especially the last 2.

[golden]

Raptors were playing like they were dead in Game 7.. especially Lowry and Siakam. I think conditioning for the Raptors wasn't that great either. Kyle is 34 so he has that excuse. Siakam usually has a motor that never quits and it was leaking oil.

You can probably get away with the super tight rotation if there are 2 days off between games, at least once in a series. The constant every-other-day is probably too much for most players to maintain a high level. Since the Raps depend on playing such aggressive defense, the energy levels might be why we're prone to getting blown out once in awhile.

[planetmars]

You can probably get away with the super tight rotation if there are 2 days off between games, at least once in a series. The constant every-other-day is probably too much for most players to maintain a high level. Since the Raps depend on playing such aggressive defense, the energy levels might be why we're prone to getting blown out once in awhile.

Yeah.. and I think that's where Nurse has to take a bit of the loss. He had a bench.. a bench much better than the Celtics bench who was missing Hayward. He decided to play Matt in two games I think for about 5 minutes a game. He didn't play Terrence until we got blown out. Boucher got a bit of a run but it was in one game only I believe.

Being down 0-2 and then having a hail marry 3pt bucket by OG to make it a series is probably why Nurse had to keep his starters in to try and steal the series. But it cost them game 7 IMO.

[golden]

I didn't break down his second half stats:

Game 1 - 4 for 5 for 10 points
Game 2 - 0 for 6 for 4 points
Game 3 - 3 for 11 for 9 points
Game 4 - 4 for 10 for 13 points
Game 5 - 6 for 14 for 22 points
Game 6 - 3 for 10 for 11 points
Game 7 - 1 for 11 for 2 points


He was good in Game 1 (plenty of rest). He was okay in Game 5. Not the most efficient, but still put up 22 points in the half. Was pretty bad every other game, especially the last 2.

That's where the lack of a true point guard (*cough*, Lowry) really hurts the Clippers. With the Raps, Kawhi had 4 play-makers (Lowry, FVV, Siakam... and sometimes Gasol), who could take the load of ball-handling off him, to keep him fresh for most of the game. TBH, the Clippers only need to add a veteran PG, like Rondo, to replace Beverley and that would solve a bunch of their problems.

[planetmars]

That's where the lack of a true point guard (*cough*, Lowry) really hurts the Clippers. With the Raps, Kawhi had 4 play-makers (Lowry, FVV, Siakam... and sometimes Gasol), who could take the load of ball-handling off him, to keep him fresh for most of the game. TBH, the Clippers only need to add a veteran PG, like Rondo, to replace Beverley and that would solve a bunch of their problems.

I think Rondo stays a Laker. They could really use Kyle lol.. but yeah. They don't have much wiggle room to make any kind of changes. Harrell is a free agent. Could try to sign and trade him to a team that has a PG and could use an energy big. But it would require his permission.

[G__Deane]

Raptors were playing like they were dead in Game 7.. especially Lowry and Siakam. I think conditioning for the Raptors wasn't that great either. Kyle is 34 so he has that excuse. Siakam usually has a motor that never quits and it was leaking oil.

Pascal's "motor" wasn't evident in the entire bubble. He used to outrun everybody including regular leak out home runs from Lowry. He just didn't looked any faster than anyone lately, even against Brooklyn

[KeonClark]

I think Rondo stays a Laker. They could really use Kyle lol.. but yeah. They don't have much wiggle room to make any kind of changes. Harrell is a free agent. Could try to sign and trade him to a team that has a PG and could use an energy big. But it would require his permission.

The only way I'd be comfortable with dealing Kyle would if we wanted to go chase another ring, which would be the case to go reunite with Kawhi.

alas, the clippers have literally 0 interesting assets.