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Not Tanking. Playoffs?  The Clippers: The Clippers have been exciting as of late. It looked like their season was over after so many losses contributed by injuries. Last week we saw them become more competitive as we got to see the newly acquired asset – Tarik Black in action. We also saw the return of Alec Burks. Burks is a superior 6th man that will add plenty of points off the bench. This week, Clippers will get another player back from injury – Clint Capela. The Clippers already had strong paint presence with Tarik Black. The addition of Capela will make this even more dominant. Unfortunately, the Clippers lost high volume scorer - Rodney Hood last week. This moves KJ McDaniels into the starting lineup. It’s crazy seeing Clippers grow into this dominant force even after trading their high value assets for draft picks. The Clippers have a total of 6 1st-round draft picks this year. The Pelicans: I thought the Pelicans would be a great matchup for the Clippers. The Pelicans are just two games outside of playoff position (and I believe they will make it into the playoffs). This team has a lot of talented players. They lose Jahlil Okafor, Chandler Parsons, and Isaiah Canaan this week which is a shame, because I was looking forward to seeing Okafor’s dominant offensive post game presence. Replacing Okafor will be Jared Sullinger who is returning this week from a fractured foot injury he suffered in October. Parsons and Canaan’s absence will definitely hurt the Pelicans bench. Ron Baker and Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot steps in to fill this gap, but I don’t think it will be enough. It seems like Parsons can never stay healthy. Parsons couldn’t stay healthy in the NBA when he was with the Dallas Mavericks who had the best medical staff. It will take a miracle under Memphis Grizzlies’ subpar staff. Let’s hope Parsons can make it back to his 2014 form. Match-Ups: C: Tarik Black vs. Jared Sullinger Tarik Black averaged 10.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks last week. Jared Sullinger on the other hand has not played a game yet this year. So we aren’t really sure what to expect. He’s a bit short for a center, but then again so is Black. He can definitely rebound. His ratings show that he has mid-range game. He’s no Okafor, but he has decent post game. He should be able to defend Black down in the post. Black should be able to make an impact with his ability to attack the boards. He also has an amazing inside game as well. Sullinger is the better defensive rebounder while Black is the better offensive rebounder. Overall, I think both of these players are very similar defensively. I believe Sullinger wins the offensive side of this matchup. Both have great inside presence. Black should win out on the offensive rebounds and putbacks. Sullinger should one up Black with his range.  PF: Clint Capela vs. Markieff Morris Clint Capela should be fully recovered this week from a fractured left fibula. He hasn’t played a game since week 5. In week 5, he averaged 8.0 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks. He’s pretty much a center playing the power forward position. Capela is a great defender and an amazing shot blocker. He can dominate the boards just like Black. He doesn’t have much of a post game, but he can score on under bucket catches. He can also get buckets off the rebound. Markieff Morris averaged 10.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 0.7 blocks last week. He’s a lot more versatile than Capela. He has great inside game and can nail shots from the arc. He plays tremendous defense just like Capela. However, his rebounding ability is no where close to Capela’s. Because of this, I believe Capela wins the matchup. Markieff will definitely put up more points, but overall team contribution will go to Capela.  SF: KJ McDaniels vs. Trevor Ariza At the time of writing this, Rodney Hood was the starting small forward for the LA Clippers. However, Hood went out with a bone bruise and hyperextended knee. He will be out for two weeks. Replacing Hood is KJ McDaniels. McDaniels is an underrated wing. He’s only 69 OVR, but he has an amazing ability to attack the rim and draw fouls. He can somewhat shoot from the arc, but isn’t consistent at it. His weakness lies with defense. This will be something Trevor Ariza will have to expose. McDaniels averaged 12.0 points and 1.0 rebound last week. We’ve only seen him in a bench role this season. This week will be the first time we see him in a starter role. Trevor Ariza averaged 16.7 points and 5.7 rebounds last week. Ariza is a tremendous shooter and a great defender. I expect to see some steals in this game from Ariza. Ariza has the ability to attack the rim, but not with the same ferocity that McDaniels does. I still think Ariza wins this matchup because he’s been a starter all season and scoring at a high volume is nothing new to him. He should be able to hold down McDaniels with his defense. I don’t think McDaniels will be effective in a starter role than he would be in the bench role. Expect Ariza to go off due to McDaniel’s lack of defense.  SG: Devin Booker vs. Tony Allen Even at the age of 35, Tony Allen is still one of the league’s premier defenders. Expect Allen to force some turnovers at the Clipper’s expense. Allen doesn’t have any kind of noticeable offensive ability. If he does score, it will happen during fast breaks. He averaged 7.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 0.3 steals last week. Devin Booker is one of the youngest players in the NLL. Despite his young age, he has already shown ability to pretty much do anything on the offensive end. This kid can shoot. He has an amazing pull up jumper. He can drive. He even thrives in contested shots. His defense, however, is still lacking. He averaged 16.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 0.3 steals last week. Despite Allen’s premier defense, I believe Booker can still prevail. He is already showing the league that he can be a star. And by “star†I mean he can produce big numbers despite what the defense gives him.  PG: D’Angelo Russell vs Brandon Knight Brandon Knight averaged 16.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 10.0 assist, and 0.7 steals last week. D’Angelo Russell averaged 15.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 9.7 assist, and 0.3 steals. Knight possesses incredible athleticism. His dominance at getting to the bucket is the best I have seen so far since I joined this league. His ability to attack the rim reminds me of a vintage 1994 version of Anfernee Hardaway. It’s not a ferocious attack, but an elusive one. Knight doesn’t possess the greatest shot, but can hit those game closing daggers. His opponent, D’Angelo Russell can attack, but not as dominant as Knight. Unlike Knight, Russell can nail long range shots and at a high volume. Originally, I had Knight winning this matchup. But this changes with the return of Clint Capela. If the front court was still Ryan Anderson and Tarik Black, Knight would have a field day attacking the rim with his slashing moves all day long. But the Capela / Black front court combination is too strong that Knight will be limited to perimeter shots. And that really isn’t Knight’s forte. So Russell wins this one doing what he normally does – attacking the rim and hitting long range shots.  Benches: LA Clippers – Ryan Anderson, Cody Zeller, Treveon Graham, Alec Burks, and Tyler Ullis Alec Burks will be carrying the bench here. I project him as one of the best 6th mans in this league along with Lou Williams and Jordan Clarkson. Burks has great shooting ability and above average ball handling skills. He should be able to put up plenty of points off the bench. Ryan Anderson should also put up a lot of points especially now that he’s doing it from the bench. Anderson is a one trick pony. He doesn’t do anything but nail three pointers (and he does it really well). Surprisingly, he gets a lot of rebounds even though his 2K ratings doesn’t show it. Cody Zeller is a really big guy with great inside game. He can also score off rebounds. Ullis can attack and make plays. Treveon Graham doesn’t do anything. New Orleans – Jonas Jerebko, Cheick Diallo, Nemanja Bjelica, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, and Ron Baker Jonas Jerebko is a good stretch 4. He has both a long-range and a mid-range game. The same can be said for Nemanja Bjelica. Both guys are amazing shooters. I can see each of these guys contributing most of the points off the bench. Cheick Diallo has some inside game with some decent dribbles for a big. Luwawu-Cabarrot is still a developing player. He can attack the rim and draw fouls, but this is useless since he can’t hit free throws. Ron Baker is just a warm body to complete the bench. He doesn’t do much. I do expect Baker to get some block shots due to his height advantage over Tyler Ullis. |
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As I said earlier, this kid can pretty much do it all. He has long-range shots. He has mid-range shots. He has contested shots. He can attack. He can dunk on opposing wings. The only thing this kid can’t do is play defense. He has Tony Allen guarding him, but it doesn’t matter. This kid is a star.| X-Factor |
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| The X-Factor for me in this game will be the shooting of Ariza, Morris, and Sullinger. The Clippers have a strong inside paint presence with Capela and Black. The Clippers will force the Pelicans to win the game from the outside. Sullinger can hit shots from the mid-range. Ariza and Morris can hit shots from long-range. The Pelicans are already at disadvantage with the absence of Okafor, Parsons, and Canaan. Booker, Russell, and Burks will put up a lot of points this game. If it gets out of hand, it will open looks for Capela and Black. The Pelicans will have to keep up with Clipper’s scoring but from the range. |