⭐ OFFICIAL 2020-2021 NBA Off-Season Thread: Olympics begin 7/23; NBA Draft 7/29⭐

[lawdog1]

So did the Clippers lose on purpose last night to fall down to #4?

Having watched the game, I wouldn’t say they tried to lose - at least not the players who were on the floor.

But since Kawhi, PG, Bev, Reggie, Mann all were out; Morris and Zu were both held out in the second half; and Jay Scrubb, playing in his 3rd NBA game ever, got like 38 minutes, seems fair to say they were comfortable with not winning.

 

[pums]

Timmy with dreads after having the same boring cut for his whole playing career will always be funny to me.

 

[lawdog1]

Blazers v. Nuggs on Sunday is going to determine a lot, either way it winds up.

 

[Zo gif]

 

[xxpizzo]

Waking up to that #1 seed finally feels good

 

[100027]

Feels good I remembered I can block that meme spam

 

[lawdog1]

Feels good I remembered I can block that meme spam

Not planning to block it, but I will say this - if what he posts is a representative sample of all NBA memes out there, it’s been a pretty bad year for them.

 

[ill steelo]

So did the Clippers lose on purpose last night to fall down to #4?

Lakers don’t have any tiebreakers so the highest they can get is #6. So Clippers at #4 makes it impossible to play the Lakers in the 1st round..... but certainly they’re not ducking that matchup?

Benching your stars and giving 40 minutes to Jay scrubb is definitely trying to lose on purpose... for whatever reason & that’s the only reason that jumps out

 

[pums]

If you have a chance to duck the lakers you duck them. It’s not even a slight to the clippers. The lakers are the scariest team out west

 

[B Sox]

Luka really gonna have to play the Clips again in the first round

 

[N41D]

Luka really gonna have to play the Clips again in the first round

Needs to win Sunday now and have Portland beat the Nugs.

 

[BIG LEEMELONE]

Luka really gonna have to play the Clips again in the first round

Ducking the Lakers to matchup with a team that's won 12 of their last 15 is an interesting strategy

 

[Maximus Meridius]

Having watched the game, I wouldn’t say they tried to lose - at least not the players who were on the floor.

But since Kawhi, PG, Bev, Reggie, Mann all were out; Morris and Zu were both held out in the second half; and Jay Scrubb, playing in his 3rd NBA game ever, got like 38 minutes, seems fair to say they were comfortable with not winning.

So the short answer would be yes.

 

[100027]

Luka really gonna have to play the Clips again in the first round

Maybe I underrate the Mavs but I don’t see any good matchups for them against the higher seeds no matter who they play

 

[lawdog1]

Lakers don’t have any tiebreakers so the highest they can get is #6. So Clippers at #4 makes it impossible to play the Lakers in the 1st round..... but certainly they’re not ducking that matchup?

Benching your stars and giving 40 minutes to Jay scrubb is definitely trying to lose on purpose... for whatever reason & that’s the only reason that jumps out

If we see a repeat of how the Clippers managed the line-up yesterday in the game on Sunday against OKC, think the answer will be pretty clear.

 

[lawdog1]

So the short answer would be yes.

Hey man, I’m just trying to be fair to Jay Scrubb, Yogi Ferrell and Patrick Patterson, etc. They weren’t trying to lose.

 

[ill steelo]

If you have a chance to duck the lakers you duck them. It’s not even a slight to the clippers. The lakers are the scariest team out west

I actually feel the opposite. AD & Bron haven’t consistently played together since February. The best time to play them is when guys are regaining their conditioning & rhythm not after.

But to your point you also can’t risk losing in the first round & having Kawhi enter free agency a few weeks later.

 

[cedric ceballos]

Blazers v. Nuggs on Sunday is going to determine a lot, either way it winds up.

if the Clippers rest their guys again Sunday or play them on limited minutes against OKC, that blazers nuggets matchup may be meaningless. Just realized both teams play at the same time tomorrow. But if the Clippers prefer the 4 seed for whatever reason they may. They control that if they want. I don’t think seeding is that important to a few teams in the west though.

on a side note. I know you’re a Clipper fan. Do you remember in the 05-06 season when late that season they played the Grizzlies. The winner pretty much locked up the 5 seed and a matchup against the 60 win 4 seed mavs. The loser was likely the 6 seed and played the “3 seed” 44 win nuggets. The Clippers sat some guys out and played Elton Brand limited minutes. The Grizzlies won and proceeded to get swept by the Mavs in the first round while the Clippers beat denver in 5 and Reggie evans grabbed Chris kamans nuts.

 

[B Sox]

Maybe I underrate the Mavs but I don’t see any good matchups for them against the higher seeds no matter who they play

I think they’d have a pretty solid chance to beat anybody that’s not the LA teams in the West. Strong record since all-star break and have a guy that could be the best player on the floor any night. 3pt shooting is a huge swing factor for them though.

 

[dacomeup]

All this ducking and dodging is nasty . From all parties involved, but I get it. Just kinda killed the hype of the last weekend.

 

[Maximus Meridius]

I know ya'll get relied up about any Luka criticism but maybe if he came in the season in shape and lived up to his preseason MVP talk from the jump they woulda had a higher seed. He cooked the Clippers last year, I don't think it's that bad of a matchup. Ain't no easy teams in the west anyway.

 

[amitt5504]

If I’m the Clippers, I definitely want Utah in R2 (let’s be real, Curry and winning that series). Getting 3 and potentially playing the Lakers, then the Suns then maybe Utah

 

[lawdog1]

if the Clippers rest their guys again Sunday or play them on limited minutes against OKC, that blazers nuggets matchup may be meaningless. Just realized both teams play at the same time tomorrow. But if the Clippers prefer the 4 seed for whatever reason they may. They control that if they want. I don’t think seeding is that important to a few teams in the west though.

on a side note. I know you’re a Clipper fan. Do you remember in the 05-06 season when late that season they played the Grizzlies. The winner pretty much locked up the 5 seed and a matchup against the 60 win 4 seed mavs. The loser was likely the 6 seed and played the “3 seed” 44 win nuggets. The Clippers sat some guys out and played Elton Brand limited minutes. The Grizzlies won and proceeded to get swept by the Mavs in the first round while the Clippers beat denver in 5 and Reggie evans grabbed Chris kamans nuts.

Remember it well. I think it may even have prompted a rule change because what the Clippers did was so blatant.

 

[amitt5504]

Like I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bucks throw this next game vs Miami. Miami stays out of 6 and they don’t have to play them R1

it’s a condensed season and guys are showing wear and picking up injuries, you want the easiest road possible

 

[rolaholic]

About time