are the lakers starting to take a backseat to the clippers?

Juronimo wrote:

JGC wrote:No, they aren't.

But they are eons better than this Laker team.

This.

Agree though the "eons" is a bit much. They are more cohesive and playing much better ball. The playoffs are a different animal. Let's see if Del Negro has the skill and moxie.

gcclaker wrote:

Juronimo wrote:

JGC wrote:No, they aren't.

But they are eons better than this Laker team.

This.

Agree though the "eons" is a bit much. They are more cohesive and playing much better ball. The playoffs are a different animal. Let's see if Del Negro has the skill and moxie.

yup...they can be as many 'eons' better than us in December, we'll see the truth when the real season starts

Taking a back seat to them, no. I still see LA as a Laker town, only fake fans have left the Lakers for the Clippers, and I personally don't know any Clippers fans in my city. I'm sure there are plenty, I just don't see them all over the place with jerseys on like the Clippers are taking over. And in the media, I have barely seen them talked about even during their big win streak, ESPN doesn't even do the Blake Griffin dunk alert thing anymore. Most of the talk on ESPN has been about the Lakers, how bad we are, probably mostly because of how bad we are, it's a bigger story than if we were just good like always. So no the Clippers aren't bigger than the Lakers and they aren't the new kings of LA. Are they better than us right now though? Oh yeah, no question, deeper and better as a team at the moment.

FYI, this entire Clipper win streak, I think their only win against a playoff team was their game against Chicago.

This will always be a Lakers town. However, the Clippers will have their own massive following especially if they manage to win a title this season...

Call me when that joke of a team wins 16 titles then we'll talk

Lol, no. It doesn't matter if the Lakers are winning 10 in a row or losing 10 in a row. People will always be talking about the Lakers and not the Clippers.

Weezy wrote:Most of the talk on ESPN has been about the Lakers, how bad we are, probably mostly because of how bad we are, it's a bigger story than if we were just good like always.

1. Of course ESPN is loving this nightly struggle of the Laker's super team.

and

2. How telling is it that our team's struggles are getting more coverage than the Clippers' winning? That's how little that team matters and how little that team means to this city in comparison to the s*** stain that is the Clippers.

Here's who the Clippers have beaten on their impressive win streak:
Sacramento -2
Minnesota- 1
Utah -1
Dallas- 1
Phoenix- 1
Toronto- 1
Chicago- 1
Charlotte -1
New Orleans -1
Detroit -1
Milwaukee -1

Of those I am impressed with Chicago, and to a much lesser extenet Milwaukee, Phoenix, and Utah. Those are all games they SHOULD win (as the Lakers should too...). Their road however will get tougher, just like the Lakers' will. Let's see how the next month goes.

No.

Lakers struggling is making more noise than whatever streak clippers got going on.

KobeSystemtwofour wrote:Call me when that joke of a team wins 16 titles then we'll talk

So you prefer watching old videos instead of facing the live NBA !?

odom1year wrote:

KobeSystemtwofour wrote:Call me when that joke of a team wins 16 titles then we'll talk

So you prefer watching old videos instead of facing the live NBA !?

If you like watching every flash in the pan, you'll have to be quick. Enjoy it. Because it won't last long, and it won't make history. But if you want to break open a bottle of aged greatness and see the decades of dedication put into the product and experience the finished product, just watch the Lakers.

odom1year wrote:

KobeSystemtwofour wrote:Call me when that joke of a team wins 16 titles then we'll talk

So you prefer watching old videos instead of facing the live NBA !?

Just rewatched Game 7 of the 2010 Finals against Boston. Two teams with a storied history fighting tooth and nail for another banner. Yes, I'd rather watch that than the run and flop Clippers who are blowing doing great right now. Yes, lots of teams play great to start but its how you finish. Jock the "flashy" kids if you want.....I'll take tried and true history on knowing how to win when it matters.

I think the Clippers are peaking to early, I want to see how they play come March/April when they probably have the 1 or 2 seed locked up and try to restart their engines in the playoffs

The only reason the clippers are still relevant is because of stern. No CP3 means they are in the lottery as usual.

i've always wondered if the clippers actually have real fans because of this

when people choose a team to root for, they usually do so based on who their hometown team is and whether the team is good or not. in the case of LA it's the lakers and clippers and the lakers are the winning team while the clippers are perennial losers. so i dont get how the clippers can actually have real fans. i've always just assumed that the people who claim to be clippers fans are just people who have relocated to LA from other cities and have never liked the lakers.

it's not like the clippers have ever had a bandwagon to jump on until now

Fans who cheer for the Clippers do so because they want to be "cool" by rooting for the underdog and against the established. You know, acting that they are not like everyone else? At least that is the vibe I get from the ones I encounter.

Answer: No

gcclaker wrote:

Juronimo wrote:

JGC wrote:No, they aren't.

But they are eons better than this Laker team.

This.

Agree though the "eons" is a bit much. They are more cohesive and playing much better ball. The playoffs are a different animal. Let's see if Del Negro has the skill and moxie.

Well, I say eons because the Clippers right now, are showing all of the necessary traits of a true contender. Meanwhile, we haven't even shown the ability get on the same page with each other.

The Clippers are #4 in FG% Against, #4 in PPG Against and #1 in the NBA in PPG differential at +8.9. Those are three of the top predictors of championship success (esp PPG differential).

(We are 17th in FG% Against just behind the Timberwolves, 22nd in PPG Against just behind the GS Warriors, and 7th in PPG differential at +2.7)

In a domain with only 30 teams, that's essentially eons in separation.

To be fair though, they've had Chris Paul the entire time, we've had Nash for like 9 quarters and an OT. They are better than us, but I wouldn't say the gap is huge, as in we could never beat them or something. I would think if they didn't have CP3 for 20-some games they would struggle in the long run as well.

Also, much of what makes them special is their incredible depth. Just at the guard position they have CP3, Billups, Jamal Crawford, Eric Bledsoe and Willie Green. At the 3 spot they have Butler, Barnes & Hill. And it keeps going.
That helps in the regular season A LOT, BUT, won't be as big a difference maker in the playoffs (unless there are injuries) because rotations are shortened. They are better than us, but mostly in terms of regular season play. If we find some groove and make the playoffs on a decent seed (say #5 or #6), I think we could totally beat them. Their biggest advantange, their depth, isn't going to be that much of a factor come playoff time.

Weezy wrote:To be fair though, they've had Chris Paul the entire time, we've had Nash for like 9 quarters and an OT. They are better than us, but I wouldn't say the gap is huge, as in we could never beat them or something. I would think if they didn't have CP3 for 20-some games they would struggle in the long run as well.

Finwë wrote:Also, much of what makes them special is their incredible depth. Just at the guard position they have CP3, Billups, Jamal Crawford, Eric Bledsoe and Willie Green. At the 3 spot they have Butler, Barnes & Hill. And it keeps going.
That helps in the regular season A LOT, BUT, won't be as big a difference maker in the playoffs (unless there are injuries) because rotations are shortened. They are better than us, but mostly in terms of regular season play. If we find some groove and make the playoffs on a decent seed (say #5 or #6), I think we could totally beat them. Their biggest advantange, their depth, isn't going to be that much of a factor come playoff time.

Both need a +1.

I think the OP is trying to get a reverse jinx going here....he's saying this so that the Lakers start winning again and the Clippers go back to their losing ways!

Jokes aside, Clippers are legit this year, I think more so than last year where they came in overrated, they have a squad this year that went through a growth phase in last year's playoffs. It's no joke to go on the road in Memphis and win a game 7. Even their coach VDN has improved. He isn't being crazy with the rotations and for the most part he's playing the right guys and playin them the right amount of minutes. Both CP3 and BG average only 32mpg. That's going to help them come playoff time. They have a solid bench and yes rotations will shorten but they will still have a solid top 8 going into the playoffs. The tough part will be managing minutes when Billups and Hill come back. I would think that willie green gets the shaft in the rotation, but the tough part will be finding minutes for Hill....both butler and barnes have played really well and they don't really need any extra help at that position. So we'll see what VDN does. The clippers will probably get the 2nd or 3rd seed given their incredible depth and the amount of blowouts they'll have thsi year. Even though their streak has been against bad teams, they have also beaten some good teams this year (miami, san antonio, memphis). Granted its really early in the season, they're still beating good teams and beating teams they SHOULD beat, something we didn't do (yes we didnt have nash or gasol for some of these games but we still shouldn't lose to some of the teams we lost to).

With all that being said? No, the Lakers will NEVER take a backseat to the Clippers. Lakers will always be the team to talk about, the team to beat in LA, the Clippers can't take that from them ever. I've always said the Clippers need to move out of LA to really be recognized as an elite team, because its unfair to the management and ROSTER they have that they're being overlooked even in their best year EVER. They should go to San Diego, or Anaheim, or Vegas, just somewhere else where they can be appreciated. LA will never look at the Clippers as "their" team. Despite what ppl think of Lakers fans, we're pretty loyal. Lakers fans won't jump to the Clippers bandwagon. Ever.

Lakers are always going to bring in star players and they will always be relevant. I'm confident in that.

Clippers with 13 straight wins. It's a shocking moment in NBA history. If D12 stays in Lakers, the future in this town is D12 vs Griffin & Paul.