With wins over the Lakers, Miami, and Chicago.

Impressive.

My prediction is that the Clippers will finish 2nd in the Pacific (barring major injuries)


"F PlanoGuy!!" - Billy Liucci's TexAgs Premium Forum

My god, you're everywhere.

My guess is that the Clippers make a serious run at .500 and possibly even the 8 seed. The last 2 teams in the Western Conference (Denver, Portland) are in tenuous circumstances right now and may slip out of the playoffs if someone goes on a run. Despite the Clippers recent run, they are still only 14-25, so it's a long climb ahead. Luckily for them, the Pacific Division is the worst in the NBA right now and they are only 3.5 games out of 2nd in the division already.

Plus there's a decent chance that the Suns will trade Nash


"F PlanoGuy!!" - Billy Liucci's TexAgs Premium Forum

47 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists for Griffin today


"F PlanoGuy!!" - Billy Liucci's TexAgs Premium Forum

Griffin is a lot of fun to watch. If he stays healthy he could be a top five player in the league very soon.

quote:

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My guess is that the Clippers make a serious run at .500 and possibly even the 8 seed.

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That would blow, coming from this Spurs fan.

I think he is a top 5 player now....... and he is fun to watch.

I have a huge man crush on Blake Griffin. He plays hard every single minute he's on the floor. He's a blast to watch and it seems that his work ethic is starting to change the entire clippers organization.

DeAndre has found a perfect spot for him. He can be Blake's sidekick, play D, challenge everything, go after every rebound Griffin doesn't get. With those two down low and Gordon on the outside the Clips could grow into a pretty dangerous team. The problem as always is that they are the Clips and their ownership/management will ultimately find a way to eff this up.

I was working late last night while watching the Clips/Blazers game and I was particularly interested to see how Blake Griffen looked over the course of a game. As amazing as he is rebounding and on offense, he's got a long way to go on defense. He could use polish on his offensive game -- in the 4th quarter when the defnesive pressure on him stepped up he kind of fumbled opportunities and had some turnovers. He kind of reminds me of the power forward version of Dwight Howard. He's got such amazing athletic abilities for his position and puts up ridiculous numbers, it is surprising to see how much room for improvement he really does have.

On defense, Lamarcus Aldridge just abused him. It was way too easy for Aldridge to get low on the block and get whatever he wanted on offnese. I was pretty dissappointed how he defended on the ball.

I think Baron is the key to that team. When he is a motivated to win the game, the Clips are very tough to beat, and could be a much tougher 8th seed match up than the current prospects.

The problem is that Baron's motivation comes and goes, and him finally getting into shape is a big reason they are doing so well.

However, I don't think the Clips get the 8th seed.

Again, about as good of writeup as I've seen on Baron Davis (Decade all underachiever team-MVP):
http://thepaintedarea.blogspot.com/2009/12/nba-all-decade-2000s-underachievers.html

To be fair, Aldridge has been a tough cover for everyone this season inside the paint. He finishes extremely well and is probably the best jump-shooting big man in the league.

Right, but if Chuck Hayes can deny Aldridge the low block and turn him into a jump shooter, so can Blake Griffen. Griffen was allowing Aldridge to get jump hooks with his right hand at point blank range all night long.

Griffin goes for 30 points, 18 rebounds & 8 assists. Plus he hit a 3 pointer with 47 seconds left and the game tied. He's now 6-10 from the 3 point range this season.


"F PlanoGuy!!" - Billy Liucci's TexAgs Premium Forum