The Official 2016 NBA Playoffs Thread

[jbergey22]

Harden did play a fabulous game. Sometimes he just handles the ball entirely too much a get the entire team out of sync.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by whomario

The Mavs are also without Parson (and Barea now it seems), even 2011 Dirk couldnt make this an even matchup.

Originally Posted by cartman

or...

That was a wild finish, with the basket being disallowed.

Back to: yup

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by sovereignstar v2

Wow. Back to where he started.

Originally Posted by wustin

I hope he doesn't overwork his players like he did in Chicago.

The Jeff Fisher of NBA coaches.

[whomario]

Thibs will also be "President of Basketball Operations" but bring in Scott Layden to be the GM (who would rather be known as Assistant GM with the Spurs than the former GM of the Knicks )

[nol]

Originally Posted by whomario

Thibs will also be "President of Basketball Operations" but bring in Scott Layden to be the GM (who would rather be known as Assistant GM with the Spurs than the former GM of the Knicks )

Or as the guy who drafted Stockton and Malone, but either way he's just there to handle the administrative stuff and be a yes man for the coach/GM. Same as with the Pistons or the Clippers.

[nol]

Halfway through the first round, an update on how these teams are set up for the future, since in a week or so that's what 8 of them will be thinking about.

Undefeated teams
San Antonio: Do not have to try particularly hard as the injured Grizzlies (1-10 over the last 11 regular season games) are giving it a good effort but more or less showing what it would look like if a clerical error put the 76ers in the playoffs by accident. Obviously have their guys in Leonard and Aldridge going forward.

Clippers: Better than expected opening between Griffin being back to form and Curry's absence causing the Warriors to drop a game. Will look to play with more urgency than Atlanta did against Boston yesterday in the hopes of closing the series early to force Golden State to do the same since LA will need any edge in health and rest to be competitive in round 2. Don't have much of a pipeline for young talent and a drubbing at the hands of the Warriors (or somehow losing to Portland) would lead to wholesale roster changes.

Cleveland: Warm-up round. Championship or bust for them.

Miami: Probably the team that's seen its odds of advancing increase the most over the past week especially since Batum is injured for Charlotte now. Wade, Deng, and Whiteside are all free agents, and they probably will let Whiteside walk barring something like a Finals appearance. Will be pretty dependent on who they can lure in free agency - otherwise, it's Winslow and a bunch of 30+ guys making huge money for the time being.

One loss

Oklahoma City: That loss does look very fluky. Billy Donovan has been no better a coach than Scott Brooks (and that's being charitable to Donovan). EDIT: Kevin Durant just picked up a flagrant 2 because he was left in an 11-point game with a minute left even though the series has featured plenty of cheap shots and physical play. I think Durant will re-sign in the short term unless the Thunder just get demolished by the Spurs. If he leaves, Westbrook is leaving the following season, so it would be time to blow things up.

Golden State: Curry must be either 100 percent or have the type of injury that an extra day or two of rest wouldn't really help, because otherwise there'd be no problem with letting the Rockets try to make it 2-2 tomorrow without him. Barnes and Ezeli are due to have their salaries increase by 5-6x this offseason, so the Warriors will either be going forward with a stratospheric payroll or let those guys leave and try plugging in a few ring chasing veterans alongside Curry, Green, and Thompson.

Atlanta: 60 wins and the conference finals followed by 48 wins and the 1st/2nd round could be seen as a trend for a team whose key guys are 30+. Probably still in the driver's seat for this series considering how winnable the game was for them last night despite not playing particularly well, but it would have been much more assured had Isaiah Thomas been suspended for game 4.

2 losses

Indiana: Paul George has been the best player in the series by far. They'd have to really nail a draft pick to become a real contender in the East going forward, especially because the $18 million per year going to Monta Ellis and Rodney Stuckey over the next three seasons is going to limit free agency options.

Toronto: Are in danger of losing three straight first-round series despite having homecourt advantage in each of them. Lowry and Derozan are both 35% career shooters in the playoffs; the Raptors run a relatively retrograde offense that needs to be propped up by plenty of trips to the free throw line, and that's harder to come by when teams have really scouted you. The Lakers will probably try to make a big splash by using some of their cap room to bring Derozan home, and if it comes on the heels of three straight postseason disappointments it'd be hard to blame the Raptors for letting him go.

Portland: Do not have the personnel who are able to do much after their guards are aggressively trapped on the pick-and-roll. Not much for defensive stoppers either - have been hiding Lillard on Mbah a Moute, but Chris Paul is still doing well against Portland's SFs. With no 1st round pick, those guys are going to have to come through free agency.

Charlotte: Have been more competitive with Miami than the scores indicate, but are still looking for the first playoff win in 'franchise history.' After that, 5 of their top 6 scorers from this season are free agents, so in all likelihood the team will look very different next season.

Dallas: If they proceed to be run off the court these next couple games by the Thunder, they have no first-rounder to look forward to and are going to try to reshuffle the deck in free agency. They've got the kind of coach who can rejuvenate veterans off the scrap heap, but with Utah and Minnesota trending upwards it looks to be a losing battle against time.

Houston: Howard is probably out the door and there will probably be a new coach as well. Still have Harden to build around and if he's in better shape to start the season there should be a bit of a rebound from that alone, but the Rockets would have to strike big in free agency to get back into the upper echelon of the West.

Boston: got that first playoff win under Stevens, which is a start. When it comes time to try packaging players/picks to get a big star, this series is a good reminder that the sooner you actually make a move you're able to trade 'future first round picks' or 'potential draft sleepers' who have a better ring to them than 'guys who rode the pine their rookie year and did not look particularly good when called upon.' Kinda like getting a gift card instead of cash.

3 losses

Detroit: Trying to get that consolation victory in game 4. Best hope for a future playoff series victory is a change in the intentional fouling rule or for someone to get Drummond to shoot underhanded. This team would win 20-25 games without Drummond. In other words, in a close playoff game the Pistons' opponent gets to play a 20-25-win team down the stretch.

Memphis: Thanks for playing. Marc Gasol has the same foot injury as Joel Embiid, is 10 years older, and will probably try to rush back to play for Spain in the Olympics this summer. If Conley leaves too, the Grizzlies could find themselves in the run for the no. 1 pick next year.

[whomario]

Nice effort by Dirk tonight, too bad that Deron Williams could not shake that injury. Durants fake tough-guy impressions (pretty ugly looking Flagrant 2 on Anderson just now, especially the way he follows through after hitting him in the face/on the head) always irk me the wrong way. He´s not going to will a team to a championship by being somebody he´s not ...

For the Pacers, Mahinmi played one hell of a game despite suffering from a sprained back.

[Alf]

Happy to see Mahinmi at that level, but man, he really did put on muscles since leaving Pau-Orthez.

[nol]

Tie game in Houston at halftime, and Curry was hobbling to the locker room after slipping and seemingly hyperextending his knee the last play of the half.

[Vince, Pt. II]

People are speculating a possible MCL injury for Curry. Team came out on fire in the third, but it almost doesn't matter if Curry is seriously injured.

[nol]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

People are speculating a possible MCL injury for Curry. Team came out on fire in the third, but it almost doesn't matter if Curry is seriously injured.

It didn't look that serious. If it's a sprain and not a tear he's out for a week or two tops.

[Solecismic]

What's crazy is that without that slacker who hit 400 3-pointers during the season, the Warriors were 20-33 from long range in a playoff game. The way the game is evolving, it's going to be one big H-O-R-S-E fest in 20 years.

[bhlloy]

There are about a billion hot taeks being written right now about going for the record vs resting their stars for the playoffs. Even if he's going to be OK.

[nol]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

There are about a billion hot taeks being written right now about going for the record vs resting their stars for the playoffs. Even if he's going to be OK.

I'd really doubt that because he literally slipped in a puddle of sweat created when another guy fell down a second earlier. That is, however, exactly what people are referring to when it comes to championship teams needing to avoid bad luck with injuries.

[wustin]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

What's crazy is that without that slacker who hit 400 3-pointers during the season, the Warriors were 20-33 from long range in a playoff game. The way the game is evolving, it's going to be one big H-O-R-S-E fest in 20 years.

They could just change the rules to screw over ball movement.

[nol]

Originally Posted by wustin

They could just change the rules to screw over ball movement.

The antidote to small ball is the same as it's always been. One thing that you see around the league and is especially clear in this current game (Hawks-Celtics) is that referees give smaller players quite a bit more leeway to be physical when guarding bigger guys; Marcus Smart is able to fight for position with Paul Millsap in ways that a Sullinger or Amir Johnson would get called for fouls for doing, and then of course Smart is much quicker than either of those guys once Millsap does get the ball.

[Solecismic]

It's an odd compromise. We acknowledge basketball is a contact sport that requires a lot of strength, but don't be too strong and don't mess too much with the stars. Drive and dish and repeat.

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by Vince Pt II

People are speculating a possible MCL injury for Curry. Team came out on fire in the third, but it almost doesn't matter if Curry is seriously injured.

These playoffs are going to suck if he can't come back strong. It happens to somebody almost every year, but there isn't a 73-win team every year and the champion's going to get disrespected in certain circles if it's not the Warriors.

[JonInMiddleGA]

If the Hawks manage to end up with a first round exit, I'd expect questions about whether the team should have been blown up at the deadline are going to get considerably louder.

Despite the last minute heroics tonight, Teague was 4/18 from the floor in a very important game. Horford hasn't shot a single free throw in the two losses.

Yeah, I think it's going to be kinda noisy if this isn't salvaged.

[nol]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Despite the last minute heroics tonight, Teague was 4/18 from the floor in a very important game.

Even then, he was less of a disaster than Schroder (especially on defense) and a couple bad calls on Teague early on to get him into foul trouble were crucial in that regard.

edit: one thing I forgot to mention for the earlier game was that you'd never have guessed in 2002 that a coach would be praising 39-year-old Vince Carter for the example he set in a completely unwinnable playoff series. Pretty cool.

An emotional Dave Joerger on the veteran leadership of Matt Barnes & Vince Carter...https://t.co/JZpSbCWNly

— NBA TV (@NBATV) April 24, 2016

[nol]

Byron Scott finally got canned! Must be about to get on their knees for Luke Walton given their lack of urgency to go after Thibs or even Scott Brooks. The Lakers can't be in too much of a hurry to hire anyone considering that Walton figures to be coaching for a while; if the Thunder get stomped by the Spurs I could see them looking at Kevin Ollie for the Durant ties.

Exciting finish to the Detroit-Cleveland game, which resulted in the nice happy medium of giving the fans some competitive playoff basketball but getting everyone started on summer vacation on schedule.

[Chief Rum]

The Lakers might be the worst run organization in the NBA now.

[TroyF]

Is the MRI from Curry the most awaited medical diagnosis of all time?

[nol]

Curry has a low level MCL sprain, is out two weeks and will be reevaluated then. Could be some incentive there to lose a game or two to the Rockets, unless the Warriors are a 50+ win team without Curry, in which case they could just play on and easily be up 3-1 on the Clippers in two weeks' time.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by nol

Curry has a low level MCL sprain, is out two weeks and will be reevaluated then. Could be some incentive there to lose a game or two to the Rockets, unless the Warriors are a 50+ win team without Curry, in which case they could just play on and easily be up 3-1 on the Clippers in two weeks' time.

And THIS is why it was not foolish for the other 29 teams to not tank. You try and make the playoffs because you never know what will happen.

[whomario]

Originally Posted by nol

Could be some incentive there to lose a game or two to the Rockets

Sports don´t work like that ...

[wustin]

Curry's out for about two weeks or so. Which means he'll be back maybe during the midst of the Clippers series.

[nol]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

And THIS is why it was not foolish for the other 29 teams to not tank. You try and make the playoffs because you never know what will happen.

What's this strawman team that could've beaten the Warriors minus Curry but instead chose to miss the playoffs? There are 3 teams that had a small chance of beating the Warriors with or without Curry and now the Clippers would have some small chance as well if he were to miss enough of the series.

Originally Posted by whomario

Sports don´t work like that ...

What the hell does that even mean? If the Warriors and the Clippers were to win out, their second round series could start as early as Saturday. Could be the difference between Curry missing 3 and missing 4 games. To direct the condescending tone back towards you, the NBA uses a best-of-seven format, so the Warriors only need to win one of the next three games to advance past the Rockets. They certainly don't need to bench everybody, but if the Rockets were to have a hot start the following game, it'd certainly be wise for them to consider how much effort they should expend trying to come back (not to mention tipping too much of their hand for the next round as far as what they'd do without Curry).

[whomario]

Originally Posted by nol

What the hell does that even mean? If the Warriors and the Clippers were to win out, their second round series could start as early as Saturday. Could be the difference between Curry missing 3 and missing 4 games. To direct the condescending tone back towards you, the NBA uses a best-of-seven format, so the Warriors only need to win one of the next three games to advance past the Rockets.

Condescending ? Touche ... You know i have purposely refrained from getting into this whole line of argument for months now as i frankly don´t have the time or interest to really back up anything i´d say on it. But seriously now, you take this whole analytics/rational-shtick way too far. And that´s coming from someone laughing his ass off whenever one of the former great rambles on and on how it´s all about heart, hard work and "making shots" or sth like that.

That being said, there is no way that you simply can play half-assed for a game or (as a coach) sit players and expect to pick right up whenever you need to. Be it this round or the next. Especially when you are missing your most important player anyway (and don´t know for how long) and can bet the farm that Houston will have a plan for that come the next game.

What if you loose 1 game and then Green gets the flu ? Or Bogut gets suspended for a game ? Or Harden gets hot ? Do you really risk going out in the first round (even at 10% odds) for better odds of having Curry in the 2nd ? I bet the Warriors rather face the Clippers without Curry for a game or two than sabotage themselves beforehand.

And didn´t you argue the Warriors are barely a playoff team with Thomas instead of Curry, much less with no replacement ?

[nol]

Originally Posted by whomario

And didn´t you argue the Warriors are barely a playoff team with Thomas instead of Curry, much less with no replacement ?

Read more closely: I said they would probably not be favored to get out of the first round. With Curry they're good enough that they could spot the Clippers a 3-0 lead and still have the series be a toss-up if he's back at 100 percent for game 4. It's not like I'm saying the Clippers would just sweep the Warriors, or even that they'd be guaranteed to win the series even if Curry were to have a setback and miss the entirety of it because Golden State still has homecourt advantage.

So you'll see I wasn't just throwing stuff out there when I said the Warriors would win 40-ish games without Curry and would potentially have a tough time making it out of the first round. I was pointing that out in the first place to emphasize how incredible Curry has been this year, especially contrasted with how the Bulls were able to win 55 games the year after Jordan retired the first time when their biggest roster change was bringing Toni Kukoc over as a 6th man.

[Danny]

Originally Posted by nol

Byron Scott finally got canned! Must be about to get on their knees for Luke Walton given their lack of urgency to go after Thibs or even Scott Brooks. The Lakers can't be in too much of a hurry to hire anyone considering that Walton figures to be coaching for a while; if the Thunder get stomped by the Spurs I could see them looking at Kevin Ollie for the Durant ties.

Exciting finish to the Detroit-Cleveland game, which resulted in the nice happy medium of giving the fans some competitive playoff basketball but getting everyone started on summer vacation on schedule.

It makes sense, attractiveness of the Lakers job is heavily dependent on what happens in the lottery draw.

[whomario]

Again: This does not work that way. Even if it kinda goes to show that maybe, kinda, sorta it would be best in an ideal world to rest Curry longer and give the Rockets a game: If the Warriors loose the first 3 games against the Clippers it won´t be a tossup with Curry back, it´d be a longshot. Again, you just pretend that it´s all numbers and intangibles doesn´t matter. A Clipper team with a 3-0 lead is a different animal than one starting 0-2 and the added pressure on the Warriors + having to adjust back and forth from playing without and then with Curry (no matter how well tuned they are from the last 2 years, that doesn´t go seemless) would absolutely be a factor even for a 73 win team.

And my reading is fine. You said they´d be a .500 team, that is barely making the playoffs at most. And those teams very, very rarely make it out of the first round, not merely have a hard time of it.

[Arles]

Originally Posted by nol

If the Warriors and the Clippers were to win out, their second round series could start as early as Saturday. Could be the difference between Curry missing 3 and missing 4 games. To direct the condescending tone back towards you, the NBA uses a best-of-seven format, so the Warriors only need to win one of the next three games to advance past the Rockets. They certainly don't need to bench everybody, but if the Rockets were to have a hot start the following game, it'd certainly be wise for them to consider how much effort they should expend trying to come back (not to mention tipping too much of their hand for the next round as far as what they'd do without Curry).

Game 5 at home with a 3-1 lead is a much bigger game than many people give it credit for. If you lose that, you go on the road for 6. If the Rockets get hot at home, you are forced into a game 7 without Curry - no thank you. I'd try to finish the job in game 5 and hope for 7 with Portland-LAC. Plus, even if you blow a game 5 and win in 6, you may not be getting anymore time on the schedule if the clips go 6 or 7.

[nol]

Originally Posted by Arles

Game 5 at home with a 3-1 lead is a much bigger game than many people give it credit for. If you lose that, you go on the road for 6. If the Rockets get hot at home, you are forced into a game 7 without Curry - no thank you. I'd try to finish the job in game 5 and hope for 7 with Portland-LAC. Plus, even if you blow a game 5 and win in 6, you may not be getting anymore time on the schedule if the clips go 6 or 7.

At no point did I say "bench everyone and put it all on trying to win Game 7 at Oracle." I'm saying if Game 5 looks like it's getting away at any point, it would probably be prudent to have thought about the pros and cons of trying super hard to come back and close out the series (and maybe tipping your hand to everyone else about what the team is going to be doing in situations when Curry isn't in) versus pulling back the reins and possibly buying some more rest for Curry.

Maybe I'm underrating the potential to 'wake up a sleeping giant' in Houston, but it's hard not to after seeing what they did in the 2nd half when they could have made the series 2-2.

Originally Posted by Danny

It makes sense, attractiveness of the Lakers job is heavily dependent on what happens in the lottery draw.

No, it's heavily dependent on being the Los Angeles Lakers. They've been a joke the last few years and still could have gotten Thibodeau if they'd fired Scott immediately after the season. It gets to the point where there are only 30 head coaching jobs, and somebody without one of them can't always count on walking into a rosy situation. The Lakers could lose the pick, D'Angelo Russell could get injured or arrested or something, and the job would still be more attractive than Sacramento's.

Again, you just pretend that it´s all numbers and intangibles doesn´t matter. A Clipper team with a 3-0 lead is a different animal than one starting 0-2 and the added pressure on the Warriors + having to adjust back and forth from playing without and then with Curry (no matter how well tuned they are from the last 2 years, that doesn´t go seemless) would absolutely be a factor even for a 73 win team.

No, I just know that intangibles are something people pretend to know a lot about but just make up after the fact based on the outcome in order to sound smart. I'm sure there'd be pressure on the Clippers as well if Golden State won the first game without Curry. On paper that wouldn't be the most surprising thing in the world (losing on the road against a playoff-caliber opponent when the Clippers are not exactly a dominant team themselves), as evidenced by all the 'boring' first round series that seemed over after 2 games but then not-so-suprisingly have evened up a little, but I'm sure for the Clippers in particular there would be a lot of noise about choking and whatnot. It's pretty funny that you say that about the Clippers as if they are a front-running team because last year they got down 3-2 without homecourt against the Spurs and rallied to win the series (and were also losing in the last minute of game 7), and then went on to lose to the Rockets after having a 3-1 lead (and the loss was with no Chris Paul in the lineup). You too could be said to be discounting intangibles if you're giving Houston any sort of shot at winning the series given the consistency of effort they've shown in 2 1/2 games without Curry.

If the Warriors were to lose, would it be because their players finally broke under the burden of chasing history? Would it be because they expected Curry to come back and save them, but it was too little, too late because everyone got out of rhythm? Maybe because the Clippers (not even guaranteeing they'll dispose of the Blazers, I just think Golden State would still manage Portland just fine without Curry) saw that they'd been given a chance and made the most of it? Maybe the players were motivated by past playoff failures and/or turmoil from this season.

If the Warriors were to win, maybe the players rallied around Curry and didn't want to let him down. Maybe it would be because the Clippers are a choking bunch of chokers who never won anything. Maybe the crowd at Oracle knew this was a team of destiny and refused to let the team lose. Maybe the Warriors' players felt as though they were being written off and had a chip on their shoulder because of that. So many different intangible things that could happen, but which of those will it be? If you actually knew about intangibles then surely some of these explanations would be much more likely than others, because I just threw a bunch of random stuff out there.

[vex]

Wow, and now Chris Paul has a broken hand.

[nol]

Originally Posted by vex

Wow, and now Chris Paul has a broken hand.

At least J.J. Redick and Blake Griffin are healthy and can pick up the slack. Oh wait.

[Groundhog]

That's good news for the Warriors, assuming they have no trouble with Houston.

[wustin]

Paul has to be out for the entire postseason. Unless the Clippers can make it all the way to the finals. His specific injury takes like 4 weeks at the least to heal.

[vex]

Originally Posted by wustin

Paul has to be out for the entire postseason. Unless the Clippers can make it all the way to the finals. His specific injury takes like 4 weeks at the least to heal.

If he's going to play again this postseason, he'll need to come back in the next 2 games, based on how tonight is going.

[Arles]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

And THIS is why it was not foolish for the other 29 teams to not tank. You try and make the playoffs because you never know what will happen.

Add in the Chris Paul injury and this is why Portland was smart to add undervalued pieces like Aminu, Plumlee, Harkless, Henderson and Davis in the offseason and not just tank (a la Philly).

[nol]

Originally Posted by Arles

Add in the Chris Paul injury and this is why Portland was smart to add undervalued pieces like Aminu, Plumlee, Harkless, Henderson and Davis in the offseason and not just tank (a la Philly).

Yeah, good thing those undervalued pieces were kind enough to team up with a scrub like Damian Lillard and carry him to the playoffs. They even maximized their value by magically causing the key players on a bunch of other teams to be injured while staying healthy themselves! Remember: it's dumb to rely on the lottery ping pong balls when you should instead be relying on Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, JJ Redick, Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, Derrick Favors, Rudy Gobert, Dante Exum, etc., etc., to all get injured at the right time.

[Brian Swartz]

Wow. So unfortunate. I was going to post something a few days ago about how much healthier the stars seemed to be this year overall going into the playoffs.

About that ... .

[Danny]

I hope the Clippers never win anything.

[Alf]

Chris Paul Injury | NBA.com

This is clearly bad luck but basketball wise, he pushed a Portland player in his back while the player was in the air and no referee even blown an evident foul. It kind of backfired.

Now, onto the possible Clippers/Warriors series, it equalizes with Curry knee/ankle injuries.

[Brian Swartz]

If Griffin's quad is a problem, I don't see there being a Clippers-Warriors series.

[Thomkal]

Suddenly the Western teams have to look not as opposing to the Eastern teams with all the injuries.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Alf

Chris Paul Injury | NBA.com

This is clearly bad luck but basketball wise, he pushed a Portland player in his back while the player was in the air and no referee even blown an evident foul. It kind of backfired.

Now, onto the possible Clippers/Warriors series, it equalizes with Curry knee/ankle injuries.

Paul is everything I love about basketball and everything I hate about basketball wrapped into one.

Positives: The guy plays hard, he plays smart, he's freaking talented and a joy to watch.

Negatives: One of the cheaper players you will ever see off the ball. Watch this guy off the ball sometime if you hate me for saying this. Cheap and dirty shoves and slaps. . . and then he will constantly whine about getting calls. I mean constantly. It's horrible.

[wustin]

He flops and he punches dicks. I can't stand him. Never ever being able to make it out of the 2nd round in his entire career is karma for how dirty he plays.

[Alf]

I do enjoy some kind of dirty play, but it has to be done "face to face", no chip shots and behind the back of the refs stuff. I didn't think Chris Paul was that type of guy. It really disappoints me.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Alf

I do enjoy some kind of dirty play, but it has to be done "face to face", no chip shots and behind the back of the refs stuff. I didn't think Chris Paul was that type of guy. It really disappoints me.

That's been the type of guys he's always been. Even at Wake. The problem is that he has such a good PR team that it was tough to convince people how horrible he really was until recently. Now it seems pretty well known.

I can't stand the Clippers organization after the idiocy of the Sterling thing followed by their Warriors comments at the beginning of this year.

(Note: Sterling was a racist and should have been dumped. I don't want any PC Warrior to fill up my inbox with how I'm supporting a racist. I'm not. He should have been gone from the league 2 decades earlier. I'm talking about the coaches and players who took Sterling's money knowing full well what he was and then acted all uppity after the Magic Johnson thing. Nice they were willing to stand up to Sterling when he was racist in dealing with Magic, why didn't you have the same attitude about all of the other people he impacted during his time as Clippers owner? Oh, they are just poor minorities living in low income housing, they don't amount to anything for your soapbox. Hypocrites.)