Looking ahead at our schedule
by ClipperChuck on Mar 7, 2010 9:31 PM PST
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PrintThere are only 19 games left and we currently stand at 25-38. With virtually no chance of making the playoffs (by the end of this road trip we will almost certainly be mathematically eliminated) I was trying to figure out where our lottery pick would land. If the season ended today we'd have the 10th pick in the draft (with like a 5% chance of moving into the top 4). There are a few teams only a few games behind us but if there is one this this franchise excels at... its losing so we're never quite out of it (unless its the playoffs).
So first, how many games can we realistically win the rest of the way? We have 9 home games left and 10 road games. I'll list the opponent and the likelihood of winning.
Home Games: New Orleans (maybe), Milwaukee (maybe), Sacramento (good chance), Golden State (good chance), New York (good chance), Portland (maybe), Golden State (good chance), Dallas (very little chance), Fakers (little chance unless Lakers sit everyone).
Road Games: Orlando (very little chance), Miami (small chance), Charlotte (small chance), San Antonio (little chance), Dallas (very little chance), Houston (little chance), Milwaukee (small chance), Toronto (small chance), Denver (very little chance), Sacramento (maybe).
I think we can win 5 games at home, the games against the playoff teams and New Orleans don't look promising though. On the road we might be able to steal a game against a Toronto, Charlotte or Milwaukee but those are solid teams who play well at home. Miami, Sacramento and Houston are only average or so at home but then again we are really, REALLY bad on the road. Barring some kind of injury to Dirk, Billups, Melo or Duncan I can't see us beating the Mavs, Nuggets or Spurs. Of these 10 games, we can probably win just 3 games.
So of the remaining 19 games, we can win about 8 of them. We would finish 33-49 as a result. It doesn't look too promising that we will move up in the lottery as any team below us would have to go .500 or better the rest of the way to pass us. The 76ers might be the only team capable of doing it as they have 12 more home games and only 9 road games left... then again they are 10-19 at home. So the team is in a weird spot right now, it doesn't really do much for us to tank and we we're unlikely to move up in the standings at all either. So we can only hope the team finishes strong enough to build some positive energy for next year.
| LA Clippers | 25 | 38 | .397 | 23 ½ | 18-14 | 7-24 | 3-8 | 12-28 | 95.7 | 100.8 | -5.1 | Lost 3 | 4-6 |
| Philadelphia | 23 | 39 | .371 | 25 | 10-19 | 13-20 | 6-6 | 11-23 | 97.7 | 100.9 | -3.2 | Won 1 | 3-7 |
| Washington | 21 | 39 | .350 | 26 | 12-19 | 9-20 | 3-7 | 15-24 | 97.3 | 101.3 | -4.0 | Lost 3 | 4-6 |
| Detroit | 22 | 41 | .349 | 26 ½ | 15-17 | 7-24 | 2-9 | 14-22 | 93.0 | 97.6 | -4.6 | Won 1 | 3-7 |
| New York | 21 | 41 | .339 | 27 | 13-21 | 8-20 | 3-8 | 15-27 | 101.5 | 105.0 | -3.5 | Lost 2 | 2-8 |
| Sacramento | 21 | 42 | .333 | 27 ½ | 15-15 | 6-27 | 3-9 | 13-26 | 100.8 | 105.2 | -4.4 | Lost 2 | 3-7 |
| Indiana | 20 | 43 | .317 | 28 ½ | 13-16 | 7-27 | 3-8 | 15-22 | 99.5 | 104.7 | -5.2 | Lost 4 | 2-8 |
| Golden State | 17 | 45 | .274 | 31 | 13-18 | 4-27 | 4-8 | 9-27 | 106.8 | 110.8 | -4.0 | Lost 4 | 3-7 |
| Minnesota | 14 | 49 | .222 | 34 ½ | 9-22 | 5-27 | 3-10 | 7-31 | 97.7 | 106.4 | -8.7 | Lost 5 | 1-9 |
| New Jersey | 7 | 55 | .113 | 41 | 3-28 | 4-27 | 3-11 | 6-34 | 90.6 | 100.9 | -10.3 | Won 1 | 3-7 |
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I don't think there is any chance we can beat the Hornets
we never seem to play well against them, and they always seem to make every shot they take when we play them.
LeBron or Bust !!!!
I only gave us a chance
because Chris Paul is out. Then again Collison is doing a really really good Chris Paul impersonation right now.
FA in 2010.
by ClipperChuck on Mar 7, 2010 10:04 PM PST up reply actions
we played the Hornets once w/o Paul
and got our butts handed to us, I don’t think this time will be any better ( but I would love to be wrong).
LeBron or Bust !!!!
i think we can def have a good home record but away would be the problem. i wouldnt mind having 33 wins....it just doesnt seem right with all our talent but i know things will get better next year. how better? that i have no idea. :-D
"Put the icing on the cake ladies and gentlemen" - Ralph Lawler vs. The Grizzlies
by In GrIfFin We TrUsT on Mar 7, 2010 10:14 PM PST reply actions
30-33 wins
without Blake Griffin all year and Eric Gordon battling injuries all year is not that bad. If you heard this before even the preseason you probably wouldn’t think it was that bad. Of course since we are still in the season we get emotional and think the world is coming to an end after every loss. Just like there was no way we could be worse than last season, I have a feeling next year we can’t be worse than this season.
Looking ahead at our schedule
Do we have to!?
Roger Sterling: To my knees, Don. They're bringing to my knees!"
I'd be shocked if they won more than 2 any road games, at home maybe they win half of the games left
They will lose to Portland, NY, Dallas, NO, and Lakers at home, and they will lose all of the road games left. Yep, even the Kings game.
So top 5 draft pick is not out of the question.
Chupa! Chupa!
by DonaldSterlingSucks on Mar 8, 2010 12:01 AM PST reply actions
Yuck
You think we will lose to the Knicks at home? The Knicks are playing like crap right now and we are a decent (if bipolar) home team (18-14 so far). It is indeed possible we lose all 10 remaining road games but the Clippers seem to win unexpectedly from time to time, if nothing else to build up some optimism from us and then they quickly crush any joy the following game.
FA in 2010.
by ClipperChuck on Mar 8, 2010 12:45 AM PST up reply actions
After the loss at Indiana earlier in the year...
I decided that I would no longer try to predict wins and losses by looking at the schedule. The Clippers cannot be expected to meet the highest or lowest of our expectations. One thing I will point out, however, is that I think asides from New York, Sacramento, and Golden State, all of the remaining teams are in the playoff race.
Yay yay.
Sort of
It looks like Houston and New Orleans are almost out of it. 5 full games is a lot to make up with around 20 games to go. Portland seems to be the only question mark of the teams currently pegged for the playoffs and unless they are 7-13 or worse to finish the season they should be in. It is true that aside from NY, Sac and GS all the other teams will likely finish at .500 or better
FA in 2010.
by ClipperChuck on Mar 8, 2010 12:49 AM PST up reply actions
tonight i will say a prayer
I will ask god if its possible to let the Clippers move up in the draft to select Evan Turner.
:D
by big0lbad on Mar 8, 2010 8:07 AM PST via mobile reply actions
I would consider it
Wall has some maturity issues (he got into some legal trouble with a B&E), he’s not a true freshman as he was in HS for 5 years, his jump shot is still pretty erratic and their are whispers that him and Calipari don’t see eye to eye.
That said if we got the 1st pick I would advocate trading down to the 2nd pick to pick up Turner and another asset. For instance maybe Minnesota (if they had #2) and their other lottery pick (currently projected to be #11). Or swap picks with the Nets and add a player like Courtney Lee.
If Turner dominates the NCAA Tournament he could pass up Wall though.
FA in 2010.
Interesting
From what I’ve read so far it seems like a no-doubter Wall will be the better pro (higher upside, etc) even if Turner is the college player of the year. But I haven’t read much, and I’ve watched even less, so I leave it to you guys to break down draft picks— until it gets closer I won’t spend too much time reading scouting reports.
by Michael White on Mar 8, 2010 3:18 PM PST up reply actions
Wall does have the higher upside
some scouts say he’s the best athletes they have ever seen (they must have missed some guys named Jordan and Lebron). Still, I think you’ll be very happy if you end up with Turner. He’s improved leaps and bounds each year and he’ll become a Brandon Roy type player. I’d take Turner and another good asset versus John Wall. Now if you keep the 1st pick you almost have to pick Wall out of sheer value.
FA in 2010.
There has been some talk of Wall's maturity
But you simply can’t pass him up. You always go with one superstar over two stars.
I agree that Evan Turner will become a Brandon Roy like player, but Wall could be up there with CP3.
Plus, his jumper isn’t really shaky for a freshman PG with his abilities. It’s already way better than Rose’s. And when you consider that Turner already cracked his back, that’s certainly cause for concern as well.
When you’re at OSU you crack your back and return in a matter of weeks. When you’re a Clipper, you sprain your ankle and retire.
I'm looking at Wesley Johnson
Maybe not a big impact guy, but seems like a good long-term solution at the 3.
We should have a good shot at him if we wind up picking 7-10
He's only the best player
on the third ranked team in the country right now, Syracuse.
He’s a pretty versatile player and excellent shooter at the SF position. I’ve seen him ranked as high as 3rd but it is possible he could drop all the way to the 8-11 range once the combine and workouts are done.
FA in 2010.
by ClipperChuck on Mar 8, 2010 12:19 PM PST up reply actions
Yeah...
Seems like Favors & Cousins are locked in at the 3 and 4 slots…but we don’t want them anyway w/ Griffin. Not sure I like them even if we didn’t have Griffin, seem like they will likely have character problems, but who knows.
I continue to think
that winning is no longer the team’s priority. Maybe they’re not purposely losing games, but the coaching staff doesn’t appear concerned with giving us the optimal percentages.
If I were Clipper King, I might challenge the players to have to lead at half time, and then settle into some experimentation for the rest of it. That way we’re auditioning as well as thinking lottery.
It could make a real difference if we have the 6th or 7th position, as opposed to 10th.
ClipperChuck’s analysis makes it sound challenging, but we will have a number of opportunities to lose to lesser teams. I don’t know if I’m advocating that, but I do think those games will be interesting to watch.
"i know huh........freakin clippers man.....its like a wild ride rooting for this team....gotta love em....(sometimes) lol" In GrIfFin We TrUsT
BD and Kaman
Any wins or loses depends on BD and Kaman, that is whether they feel like playing or not? Given the past games it appears as if they have already called it a season. At best they will win 3 more games. So much for professionalism or lack thereof in their case.
Trade them, it is not working.
he doesnt know
can’t wait until EJ starts getting some blame, this place will riot
It will happen eventually
At some point we have to remember that we have to resign him in 2 years, at that point he could become the next overpaid player. It would be nice if either him or BG became a superstar so signing them a max deal is a no brainer.
FA in 2010.
lets just hope DTS
is willing to put his money where his mouth is and resign our homegrown talent.
LeBron or Bust !!!!
Tanking shouldn't be an option
I’ve had a chance to watch Washington a few times recently, and it’s refreshing to see a team that is totally out of it, has given up on the season, but still puts 5 players on the floor who compete. They are still losing but they’re doing it with effort and their fans seem to appreciate it. On the other hand, you have the Clippers, a franchise with a long record of futility. Let’s finish the season with some real effort and get as many W’s as possible. It’s a crap shoot anyway with the lottery and the difference in odds of getting the #1 pick with the 10th ball is 1 in 100 and with the 8th ball about 1 in 35. Let’s play hard to win and begin to turn around the franchise. Think of OKC which started out so poorly one year ago, finished reasonably strong, and continued their momentum into this year. That’s who the Clips need to emulate.
I glad someone joined me
On drafting evan turner and getting rid of kaman. I would take evan turner over everybody in the draft even wall. If he’s a better version of derrick rose that means nothing but points. KH is the one dishing out the ball. And if you like at wall he likes to score. I know his team is better than turners but if you switch them out ohio st wouldnt even be in the top 25. Turner also plays d, he does everything you could ask of a player to do. He’s like top 10 in every category. He’s lbj with out the freakish body. And for Kaman he just does’nt get it done. He’s mr flippy one day he’s good 4 games he is’nt 3 games he’s good 10 games he’s not
30 wins
It would be nice to see the team play at least a few good games, and maybe get one or two more big wins, like the victory against Utah. There is talent on the team and part of the Kim Hughes experience should be to see if that talent can come together at some point, even if it’s only for a couple of wins. The little 3 game streak was nice, and it included an improbable win against the Jazz. With Camby gone it would have been one thing, but Gooden is a very solid replacement. DJordan needs to step up and have a big game at some point too. Kaman needs to get his 30. Those are some of the things to look for. They might not win a lot, but they can play hard and stay in games and not get blown out, or at least not get blown out night after night. They can get to 30 wins. After that, whatever. Can they get to 33 and manage not to lose 50 games? I guess that would be the next threshold.
The good thing about the draft this year is that we really want the lower pick, for capspace reasons. We don’t really have the same incentive as we usually do to try to get one of the very top picks. It’s still surreal that the Clips got the #1 pick, he’s a great player, and he still hasn’t played an NBA game. How does stuff like that happen?
And we should be happy with the Gordon pick, and Kaman 3.0. But beyond that, you get into DJordan and BD, which are more complicated, and pretty much anything goes with the expiring contracts and the different free agents out there.
It should be really interesting, but it seems like it really doesn’t make sense to look at the top picks in the draft. The relatively brief Thornton saga, and the pick of Thornton over Stuckey, is something to remember. I don’t know how “deep” the draft is, but I doubt it’s anything like it was getting EGordon at #7. But there are always good players out there, and players that don’t fit other teams. The trick is to take the Granger instead of the Korolev this time.
Stuckey
Man after the scare he had this past week you have to be happy he isn’t a Clipper. We aren’t exactly the luckiest franchise… even creepier is the fact Hank Gathers was pronounced dead 20 years earlier just mere miles from the Clippers new practice facility. It would only add to the long history of bad Clippers luck that a young player would pass away when 20 years after another young player who lived up on the hills overlooking the practice facility had passed. Oh yea, and that same team drafted his best friend. Sounds like something some Hollywood hack would write up.
FA in 2010.
Waive Davis
Get rid of Davis, San Antonio needs a guard with Price down.Perhaps then the team can come together and play as a team.Why should Gordon play hurt only to be humiliated and compromised by Davis.Two years of frustration and broken promises and next year, a year older when he already has lost a half of a step.Sterling, Donleavy wake up take your loss.
Thats ridiculous
Right, let’s waive a above average PG who is owed 42 million the next 3 years. He’s still a solid player despite what many of you think. Besides we can still trade him (might have to throw in a 1st round pick at a carrot) to free up cap room down the road. Baron is going to play a pivotal role in free agency this summer as he’s well liked around the league. On July 1st, we better be sending a entourage of Blake Griffin, Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman and Baron Davis around the country to recruit some of the bigger names.
FA in 2010.
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