NBA Playoffs – the Warriors vs. the Clippers

The Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers series may be the most exciting first round series in the NBA 2014 Playoffs. With an unstopable dunker, Blake Griffin, and an unguardable three-point shooter, Stephen Curry.  I am trying to watch every game, even if I am in class or working.

The Warriors beat the Clippers with an 11 loss in the first quarter. Shall we say the Warriors will win the series? No, no, I don’t think so. At least we could not say that this early.

The Clippers only won one more game than the Warriors but with an astonishing way. Chris Paul had missed more than 20 games which made Blake Griffin grow into a leader. After CP3 came back, the Clippers’ offense has become dominant. How? They could get 115.6 points in every 100 rounds. Only Steve Nash with his Phoenix Suns could compare with this Clippers in NBA history. It is hard to say that this is the reason why the Clippers hired Doc Rivers.

CP3 and BG are one of the best duos in the league, and DeAndre Jordan could maintain his efficiency with increasing time on court. With the deepest bench in the league, the Clippers have a wide range of arsenal. We still could find  defects in their offense. They have J.J. Redick, Jamal Crawford, Danny Granger, and Jared Dudley.  Their 3 point percentage is only 35.2%, 21^st in the league. Their ability to get second chance points went down from 7^th to 20^th which is Rivers’ style. That is all, and that is the only weakness we could find with the Clippers. They are unstoppable inside the three point line with the second and third place of two point percentage, and second place in free throw shooting. CP3 is a pick & roll master, and he could handle the ball in the crowd.  Crawford and BG are some of the best ball handlers in their positions. These stats put them in 5^th of controlling turnovers. On the defense side, the Clippers have improved a lot. The statistics are similar with last season, but their defense has become more stable. They could limit their opponents’ three point percentage to 33.2% which is the best in the league. But they still need to improve their rebound ability.

Sixers Franchise in Question as Trade Deadline Ends

As the NBA trade deadline came to a close last week, Philadelphia 76er fans were in hope of gaining some type of value for best player, Evan Turner.  With no realistic chance of throwing together a blockbuster trade, the goal had to be doing whatever necessary to at least clear cap space leading into the off-season. Let it be clear that the Sixers didn’t do any of these things and still managed to get rid of Turner.

With seconds sparring before last Thursdays 3:00p.m. trade deadline, the Sixers traded away Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen to the Indiana Pacers.  In return, the Sixers received 30 year-old injury prone, Danny Granger and a second round draft pick. This season, Granger is averaging a career worst eight points and four rebounds per game. So please, when you NBA trade gurus unravel the secrete to this deal, please don’t be a stranger.

Let’s break this trade down into 3 steps that hopefully explain why exactly the trade was a complete failure.

1^st step: The Sixers failed to clear up cap space and Granger’s expiring deal is actually worth more than Turner and Allen’s combined. I guess one could say that the team is getting closer to clearing space for the salary floor, but I personally think the affects that come on the court should be first priority.

2^nd. step: The Sixers failed to gain a player with legit playing value. There are rumors circulating that Granger will never play a game for the Sixers, as there have been talks of buying him out. And I don’t blame them if the rumors are, in fact true. If you think Granger is excited for the opportunity to start along side James Anderson and Arnett Moultrie after leaving the modeled organizations in sports right now, you would be kidding yourself.

3^rd step: The future second round draft pick won’t be used as special value, either. The deal, which is set to take place in 2015, adds to the five other second round picks the Sixers received earlier in the day. As many would say, its always better to have the picks than to not have them, but in all reality, there really has only been one player in the last five years to make an impact on a team who was drafted in the second round, and that’s Isiah Thomas from the Sacramento Kings.

So I guess that raises the question, why did the Sixers do it? The only logical explanation in my mind is that the Sixers are solidifying their selves to win the tanking race. Currently, the Sixers have the NBA’s second worse record, behind the Orlando Magic, all in the mix of riding a current nine game losing streak. Some say that the Sixers would have finished in the upper tier of the tanking race anyway, however I guess it’s better to be safe than sorry. The only hope now is that Orlando doesn’t “accidently” lose a couple more games than the Sixers in the last half of the season.