Russell up Kawhi to Book KD & CP3 for a show in the desert.. Official Clippers(#5) vs Suns(#4) 1st Round Thread

[Spliff]

Shaq with the Lou Rawls* had me

 

[BandOfGypsys]

They didn't have to do Derrick White like that

 

[J-MIL]

They didn't have to do Derrick White like that

Homie look ridiculous that head band pushing it back more. He need to cut that shyt off

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

I thought this series was over after game 1?
No corny threads made or bumped

You better hope the Suns win the title.

 

[KidJSoul]

They didn't have to do Derrick White like that

That wasn't cool at all. Don't touch sensitive subjects like that

 

[Dog Based Gremlin]

That was a cringey skills challenge

 

[ALonelyDad]

 

[Primetime]

I would agree. Kawhi actually has better handles and has (or shows) more post-moves, but KD doesn't need all that because he's 7 foot with a high ass release point. He does have a sick double crossover into a pullup J, which is a cheat code for a 7fter. However, often he doesn't need more than the 1 dribble pullup or conventional backdown into a fadeaway or 1-leg Dirk fade.

As far as who's the better shooter, KD edges Kawhi out with the career averages:

Durant: FG% = .499 / 3FG% = .385 / FT% = .886 / eFG% = .549 / TS% = .619

Leonard: FG% = .495 / 3FG% = .387 / FT% = .859 / eFG% = .549 / TS% = .603

Ultimately Durant is the more accomplished player and specifically the better regular season player but if you look at their last 5 or so playoff runs, Kawhi has arguably been better. Higher PER, better TS%. But he simply can't stay healthy, even less so than KD.

@ReggieFlare you saw what we were talking about in full display tonight when I said Kawhi actually has better handles and post moves than Durant (and is lowkey as good of a playmaker)… but that to your point with KD being 7 foot he doesn’t need to be p4p as skilled to create the separation.

Their career shooting splits are damn near identical but KD makes it look otherworldly despite it being basic catch n shoots and 1 dribble pull-ups.

 

[Conscious Pilot]

 

[Primetime]

If LA loses this series it's because they simply don't have reliable scoring aside from Kawhi. We obviously can't count on 25/night from Westbrook, though he's been much better scoring the ball today. And they aren't getting much of anything from anyone else...

To beat Phx you have to be able to score. You're going to get stops so long as you have a respectable defense, which LA does. But cam you punish them offensively after those stops? That's their chief weakness without George...

If they lose this series their offseason will be interesting. Ideally you probably need a Donovan Mitchell or SGA (ironically) to pair with Kawhi… same way KD has Booker and LeBron had Little Mountain. But there aren’t many/any of those around.

We know PG is a very good all around player but not a reliable big time scorer nor a good 2nd ball handler. And while LAC has depth, it’s not always purposeful. i.e. Batum/Morris/RoCo but RoCo never plays.

 

[I AM WARHOL]

 

[Georgiamuscle]

You better hope the Suns win the title.

Oh noo an unathletic, autist online is going to up threads and mention me telling me how a two time finals MVP sucks and is in shambles. Whatever will KD and I do

Spoiler

 

[Gil Scott-Heroin]

Oh noo an unathletic, autist online is going to up threads and mention me telling me how a two time finals MVP sucks and is in shambles. Whatever will KD and I do

See, now, why you wanna take it there with the disrespect when I’m just talking hoops?

If you wanna play it like that.

 

[steph_harden]

Lol Joel always looked like he cared about basketball…this bum Ayton just wants to get paid and hoop a little

Plus there is a big gap in skill set and talent

Ayton has the talent. He's just mentally weak, soft and lacks heart or will. Basically everything you need to be great. Embiid wants to annihilate nikkas every night. This dude just floats in and out and doesn't really seem to mind getting bodied by Ivica Zubac.

But naturally ability? He's got as much as Embiid does...

 

[Redguard]