OFFICIAL LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS 2023-2024 SEASON THREAD

[HIM]

I hope CP3 staves off decline for another year. I said last year early in the season that I thought he was declining, but I was wrong. He still put up another elite season last year. Since LeBron is basically Teflon now, I need CP3 to win a chip to shut the NBA thread loudmouths up. Bron and CP3 winning chips in consecutive years would be a giant middle finger to a lot of the people I can't stand in there. I need the basketball gods to find some kind of way to get LAC past GSW.

If the Clipprs beat GS in a series I'm getting banned from the nba thread. If they win it all I'm grtting arrested.

 

[shoeking2102]

Guess it was Matt or Wesley, according to JJ's pod.

Can't say that Doc made the "wrong" decision on that, per say. 

 

[lawdog1]

If the Clipprs beat GS in a series I'm getting banned from the nba thread. If they win it all I'm grtting arrested.

It would all be worth it, bro. Hell, get banned from NT completely. You've already had a good run on here.

And as long as you get arrested for something like public intoxication or peeing in public, its all good. A night in the drunk tank would be a small price to pay for a Clippers NBA title.

 

[lawdog1]

It's inevitable. He's had a career year for like 3 straight years now.

He will w/o a doubt regress this year. No way he'll make 48% on 3's on over 5 attempts per game. 

But, I think his gravity and impact can sustain for the foreseeable future.

I'm not sure about the decline, at least offensively. Shooting is not something that you typically see a big drop off in in older players, particular when that player never relied on elite athleticism to begin with. Ray Allen, Dirk, Reggie Miller, etc., didn't significantly decline in shooting ability as they got older. It was other things. With the way JJ works, I think he can continue to do what he's been doing offensively for a while. As long as he's in the league, guaranteed he'll be one of the best conditioned dudes playing. So that will continue to allow him to be a perpetual motion machine that gets a lot of open looks.

The question will be whether his defense drops off to the point he'll be an overall liability. That will probably take a while. If his numbers drop off this season, I think it will be more due to the team not emphasizing him as much on offense than anything to do with him personally.

 

[shoeking2102]

Bringing in Xavier Mumford and Dorrell Wright (s/o Leuzinger) to Training Camp on training camp deals.

Which is extremely weird considering as it stands right now we don't have a roster spot for either 

Maybe Doc is selling them on something that we don't know yet? (Ala pierce retiring?) 

 

[lawdog1]

^^^ I kind of doubt it. I think Pierce is in. Teams always need some extra bodies for camp. And it's not like those guys have a lot of other options though, so no real risk coming to camp. At best, they play so well they earn a spot or a look from another team with a spot and at worst, they end up in the same position they were before camp - jobless.

In other Clipper related news: JJ is recording his podcast with CP3 today and Blake just had his second kid.

 

[shoeking2102]

 To Clipper Fans | Blake Griffin

 just get it out of the way.

Last season sucked.

I am truly sorry. What happened in Toronto was 100% my fault. I messed up.

There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about it. And I don’t mean that in some clichéd “not a day goes by” way.

I genuinely think about it every single day, and I just feel like I let down the fans who have been riding with us since the beginning.

If I took one positive from last season, it’s that there were a lot of people who were obviously disappointed in me, and who told me so, but who were still in my corner. I’ll never forget what those people did for me during a time when I literally had to turn off my phone to get away from it all.

Being in the headlines in 2016 is … well, it’s interesting.

To this day, I’ll tweet out something like, “So good to be back home.”

And the first 10 replies are like, “Make sure you don’t punch anybody.”

Dang.

That’s fair, Twitter. Tough, but fair.

I don’t want to dwell on it, but I think I owe it to Clippers fans to say it once again before the season begins: I’m sorry.

With everything that’s happened over the last few months, you have no idea how excited I am to play basketball again. It’s crazy to think about, but this is going to be my eighth year as a Clipper. I’m really proud of how far we’ve come in that time.

Growing up in Oklahoma and not having an NBA team at the time, I didn’t know too much about the Clippers before they drafted me. They were never on TV in the Midwest, and I didn’t see too much of them on SportsCenter. So I truly had no idea how one-sided the Lakers-Clippers thing was going to be until I got to Los Angeles.

I remember I got off the plane at LAX for the first time back in 2009, and I was walking through the airport, looking around in the little souvenir shops, and at the ads on the walls, and at the people, and it was allllll  Lakers, Dodgers and USC stuff.

I’m seeing Lakers hoodies. Lakers teddy bears. Lakers credit card offers.

I’m like, Where’s … wait, where’s the Clippers stuff?

There was literally no Clippers stuff in sight. No billboards. No hats. Nothing. I didn’t even see a Clippers logo until I got to the team facility.

It has been really cool to be part of a team that went from barely registering with people less than a decade ago to being one that people respect. We haven’t achieved our ultimate goal, but I hope we’ve changed the perception of the Clippers. At the very least, we’re worth hating now.

For a long time, I don’t think Lakers fans wanted to waste their energy on us. That’s definitely changed.

The other day, Austin Rivers was in the locker room talking about how he was nervous to throw out the first pitch at the Dodgers game because he had never pitched from the mound before.

I told him, “Oh, just be prepared, because they’re probably gonna boo you.”

He said, “What? Why? We’re in L.A.”

And I explained to him that the majority of Dodgers fans love the Lakers.

I’m like, “Dude, you’ll see.”

He got booed so hard he actually dropped the ball as he has walking to the mound. It was amazing.

To give you an idea what it was like in the darker days, when I threw out the first pitch right after I was drafted, the stadium announcer was like, “Please welcome Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers!”

Crickets. Nobody even reacted. A couple people politely clapped. I’m pretty sure they felt bad for me.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREW D. BERNSTEIN/NBAE VIA GETTY IMAGES

Fast-forward to a few years later, when we started making the playoffs, and I’m at a Dodgers game in the stands. All of a sudden, I see the camera guy come over and crouch down right in front of me, and I just freeze like, Oh no, here we go.

Two seconds later, my face is up on the fan-cam thing on the scoreboard. And they’re just holding the camera on me, and holding it on me. I’m doing that creepy neighborly smile thing you do in those moments, like, “Hiya, everyone. How are ya?”

I got destroyed. The whole stadium was booing me.

Part of me was like, Well, this sucks.

And part of me was like, Alright, this is pretty awesome. We’re officially the enemy.

These days, Lakers fans will boo us any chance they get.

In 2013, Chris Paul went and threw out the first pitch with his kid. He walked out there to the mound with his four-year-old son, and his son was even wearing an adorable little Dodgers jersey.

Did they cheer?

They did not.

They booed him and his adorable son.

That’s why I have ultimate respect for Clippers fans who have been there since the very beginning, who stuck with us through the surreal Sterling Era, and who stuck with us through our playoff disappointments, and who still have to deal with being surrounded by Lakers fans at school or at work.

They booed him and his adorable son.

We all know the narrative going into this season. Everyone’s like, “Oh, they lose in the playoffs every year. Same old Clippers.”

All I have to say to that is this: We’re the same core group that beat the defending-champion Spurs in seven games just 17 months ago. I know 17 months seems like forever, especially in NBA time, but we know how small the margins are between winning and losing, and how quickly the narratives around teams can change.

Even over the course of a seven-game series, the story can change. The Cavs were one loss away from being thrown under the bus (some people didn’t even wait for the loss), and now they’re the NBA champions.

With that in mind, our team has kind of embraced the public perception of who we are. For lack of a better term, we’ve adopted the philosophy of: F— it. Let’s just go out and play basketball.

We have a first-time All-NBA center in DJ. We have a nine-time NBA All-Star in CP3. We have one of the most efficient three-point shooters in the league in J.J. We have a three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year in Jamal Crawford. We have an owner in Steve Ballmer who has changed the entire culture of a franchise with his positivity, and a head coach in Doc who has led a team to the title before.

The West is tough, for sure, but we really do have the pieces to make a run if we can stay healthy.

I feel like we’re at our best when we have that nothing-to-lose mentality. We definitely had that in the Spurs series, which was probably the high point of my career so far. It was everything that I love about basketball.

I remember before the series started we had a big piece of paper hanging in our locker room with every expert’s prediction written on it. Not a single person picked us.

Spurs in five. Spurs in six. Spurs in five.

One had Spurs in seven.

That was our fuel.

When you’re fighting to stay alive every single night with your teammates, going through the highest of highs and lowest of lows, it’s the most exciting feeling in the world. Just being in the trenches together, going into buildings where everybody is rooting against you. It’s why you play the game.

Not being able to experience that roller coaster last season was a wake-up call for me. If I’m being completely honest, over the course of six NBA seasons, 82 games a year, all the travel, and the whole the grind, it can be easy for everything to blend together.

I don’t want to say you’re going through the motions, but it’s easy to take the whole ride for granted. When I was hurt and basically sitting around going stir-crazy, it made me realize that basketball was like therapy for me. No matter what was going on in the real world, if I could just get to the gym, everything else disappeared.

I was crushed. It broke through all my walls.

When I was at my lowest point, a few days after the incident happened last season, I got a call from my older brother Taylor, who was over in Italy.

He didn’t tell me what I wanted to hear. He said to me straight up, “Man, what are you doing? This is not you. What are you doing this for?”

I was crushed.

It broke through all my walls. To hear that from him, somebody I’ve looked up to my whole life, who always tells me what I need to hear, that’s when I had a pretty big realization about who I am, and who I want to be.

I don’t want to say what that realization was. I just want to go out and show you.

Clippers fans, thank you for always being the realest.

— Blake

BLAKE GRIFFIN  / SENIOR EDITOR

 #Clipside. Media day monday. Season around the Corner. Let's get ittttt #BGForMVP

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

After my man Harrison Barnes of course

 

[wavycrocket]

I gotta add the clips to my sig. That's my squad .

#BG4MVP

 

[shoeking2102]

 My point is, these have been the best years of my career. I have had more fun here in L.A. than anywhere else. I would like to continue that beyond this next season, because my contract is up

-Wilson on Jonah Keri's podcast at Nerdist. 

 

[shoeking2102]

I gotta add the clips to my sig. That's my squad

.

#BG4MVP

 

[lawdog1]

Actually just came in to post that article from Blake. Glad to see its already in here. Good stuff.

As always, trying to manage my expectations, but very excited the season is starting soon.

 

[shoeking2102]

Man listening to CP saying he was hysterical after G5 against OKC on JJ's pod was reaaalllyyyy tough to hear. ****. Great episode though.

PP announcing that he's back for his last season....

Media Day today. Training Camp tomorrow. I don't care about Football anymore.

 

[lawdog1]

NBA Basketball is back!!!!!

View media item 2178799
Thread title has been updated.

 

[wavycrocket]

This JJ & Cp3 podcast though .

It's time mane.

 

[shoeking2102]

This JJ & Cp3 podcast though

.

It's time mane.

You can tell how badly these ****** want it man. Kind of forget (at least I do) that the money and fame aside, these ****** are still hoopers at the end of the day and want to win very badly.

More than hyped, I'm really intrigued by this roster. There's a lot to like. 

 

[lawdog1]

You can tell how badly these ****** want it man. Kind of forget (at least I do) that the money and fame aside, these ****** are still hoopers at the end of the day and want to win very badly.

More than hyped, I'm really intrigued by this roster. There's a lot to like. 

Yep, can't wait for the season to start. So glad its here. And I've said it before and I'll say it again, Blake is the guy this year. I feel like I basically know we're going to get from everyone else, with maybe some minor variations from prior years. But Blake taking his game to the next level and becoming a guy who can consistently deliver in clutch situations is, IMO, what can make us into a true title contender. He has the tools and hopefully learning from last year's debacle of a season (for him) and having another kid will help him get the mindset he needs to get there.

And, not Clippers related, but for those in LA:

View media item 2179252

 

[HIM]

Im on this flight headed back from seattle. Heard it was 103 in LA today :x. Not the Valley...LA, LA. It was a cool 67 up here. I feel for y'all.


On another note, I'm glad y'all reminded me of the podcast. Gonna be easy to kill time.


Ready for th season as well. Y'all thinking of going to any specific games this season? Gonna be my first time not having season tickets in a minute but I think i defnitely wanna make t to a Minny game. Should be tpretty cheap and there will be potential future superstars in KAT and Wiggins.

 

[shoeking2102]

 

[shoeking2102]

 

 

[HIM]

Repped for the pics and the vids. I'm ready, man. We have a tiny chance but that's all you need. Maybe this is the year the injury bug chooses another team. I would like a 100% CP3-Blake-DJ-JJ for just one playoff run.

 

[lawdog1]

^^^ I noticed that in that video clip Doc did not mention PP as one of the people in play for the SF spot.

I guess he's officially a back-up PF now?

 

[HIM]

I was hoping Ballmer would go through with the OTT service but I have Fox go so i stream every game anyway.

LA Clippers Sign New TV Rights Deal, But It Does Not Include New OTT Services

Spoiler

The upcoming season will be the Clippers eighth exclusively on Prime Ticket, and their 21st overall. LA is the second largest television market in the U.S., yet the team does not reach a massive audience, despite their growing popularity.

Clippers owner and former CEO of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer, planned on opting out of their local televisions rights deal to start their own OTT streaming service, but those plans fell through this summer. The team decided to sign a massive new television rights deal – on top of the money they get from the new national NBA television deal – in order to have the financial security to slowly implement their own OTT services.

Get The Latest NBA Tech News In Your Inbox!

The team will offer a select amount of in-market fans a trial run of their new digital only offerings. The idea is to help bride the gap between the at-home fan experience and the live in-arena experience. The new tests will begin some time this season.

The Clippers play 26 games on national television in 2016-17, the second most in the league. And they have slowly carved out more space in the LA market over the last last few years, due to their improved play coinciding with the bottoming out of the Lakers. This trend will likely continue as ESPN predicts they will finish third in the Western Conference, and the Lakers will finish last.

From a league perspective, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has made a clear commitment to providing great digital content. Their social media presence is expansive, they have experimented with VR broadcasting, and NBA League Pass (their OTT service) offers single game options.

The 2016-17 season marks the first of ESPN and TNT’s new nine-year NBA rights deal, reportedly worth $2.66 billion per year and $24 billion overall.

The NBA’s move towards OTT will happen eventually, but for now teams and the league will continue to follow the traditional money.

 

[shoeking2102]

 

[shoeking2102]

If anyone wants to go, free tickets are available for the Clips open scrimmage at UCI Saturday. 

http://ev11.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncom...text=&pc=&caller=&appCode=&groupCode=SPEC&cgc

 

[moonman818]

Just got my tix today

Moved down to the lower 100s for the first time

Hope it's a good year for y'all for real