09-15-2020, 10:54 AM
(This post was last modified: 09-15-2020, 10:56 AM by KillerLeft.)
I can't believe Vogel was even playing those dudes in the first place. Both of them are terrible, imo.
I think the secret sauce for LA is to play Davis at center against anyone, much like Dallas and KP, only a little bit better, even.
I'm cooling on the Clippers a lot lately, because they just don't seem to have any sense of chemistry. Probably should've seen that coming, since they only played 18 games together, but I didn't. However, I do think they'll have the best player on the court in the next round (should they advance) and IF Vogel goes back to playing those two knucklehead dinosaurs (between them, I estimate they have a shared IQ of 85) then I think the Clippers still have a path to victory, fully synergized or not.
I'd play them a little more against Denver, but the way people think here (Jokic is a big, need a guy bigger than him to guard him) is fool's gold. Murray and Jokic run that same high pick and roll game Terry and Dirk used to run, only instead of waiting until the last 5 minutes, they run it pretty much the entire game, and Murray is a much more lethal driver out of it than JET was. Oh, and the Denver spacing is even better than the Mavs' used to be. Having to play drop coverage because your center can't cover ground fast enough will result in some scary times for the Laker D.
Now, in THAT situation, while I still believe Davis to be the best option for defense, I can understand how you wouldn't want him having to defend that the entire game, so I'd probably try McGee for stretches, but my gut tells me Morris or even Kuzma would be better.
Bottom line is that against offenses of this caliber, guys like McGee and Howard are liabilities, and I think Vogel did his team a real disservice this season not preparing them for the realities of that. They should have spent more time getting used to playing without them.
Look how that series against Houston changed when he took them out. If there was ever an opportunity for "big guys are better than small guys" fans to pound their chests, that would have been it, but the reality was that the series was (way too) competitive until the second half of game 3, when Vogel finally stopped being stubborn and left Mcgee and Howard on the bench. From that moment on, it looked like the Lakers were in a completely different league than Houston.
Were they still bigger than Houston? HELL YES, OF COURSE! But, they were also much, much more skilled (especially defensively) than they were with Davis at the 4.
If I'm Vogel, this has to have me thinking. And it's not only about pick and roll defense, either. I want Zubac and Harrell and Green having to guard DAVIS, not someone they can leave to help other defenders anytime they want. Ditto for Jokic and Plumlee.
I think the secret sauce for LA is to play Davis at center against anyone, much like Dallas and KP, only a little bit better, even.
I'm cooling on the Clippers a lot lately, because they just don't seem to have any sense of chemistry. Probably should've seen that coming, since they only played 18 games together, but I didn't. However, I do think they'll have the best player on the court in the next round (should they advance) and IF Vogel goes back to playing those two knucklehead dinosaurs (between them, I estimate they have a shared IQ of 85) then I think the Clippers still have a path to victory, fully synergized or not.
I'd play them a little more against Denver, but the way people think here (Jokic is a big, need a guy bigger than him to guard him) is fool's gold. Murray and Jokic run that same high pick and roll game Terry and Dirk used to run, only instead of waiting until the last 5 minutes, they run it pretty much the entire game, and Murray is a much more lethal driver out of it than JET was. Oh, and the Denver spacing is even better than the Mavs' used to be. Having to play drop coverage because your center can't cover ground fast enough will result in some scary times for the Laker D.
Now, in THAT situation, while I still believe Davis to be the best option for defense, I can understand how you wouldn't want him having to defend that the entire game, so I'd probably try McGee for stretches, but my gut tells me Morris or even Kuzma would be better.
Bottom line is that against offenses of this caliber, guys like McGee and Howard are liabilities, and I think Vogel did his team a real disservice this season not preparing them for the realities of that. They should have spent more time getting used to playing without them.
Look how that series against Houston changed when he took them out. If there was ever an opportunity for "big guys are better than small guys" fans to pound their chests, that would have been it, but the reality was that the series was (way too) competitive until the second half of game 3, when Vogel finally stopped being stubborn and left Mcgee and Howard on the bench. From that moment on, it looked like the Lakers were in a completely different league than Houston.
Were they still bigger than Houston? HELL YES, OF COURSE! But, they were also much, much more skilled (especially defensively) than they were with Davis at the 4.
If I'm Vogel, this has to have me thinking. And it's not only about pick and roll defense, either. I want Zubac and Harrell and Green having to guard DAVIS, not someone they can leave to help other defenders anytime they want. Ditto for Jokic and Plumlee.