Game Thread 2024-25 GAME #5 - BLAZERS @ CLIPPERS - OCTOBER 30, 2024 - WED - 7:30 PM - KATU 2.2 - BLAZERVISION

Norman Powell has been one of their best scorers this season...He and Harden have been a one two punch for them

 

oh jeez this one will be ugly. my hope is for one quarter of quality play.

 

That Halo Board is amazing.

 

Powell is averaging 25 a game with a .646 TS%

on the other hand, Harden is shooting 19% on three's on 9 attempts a game....yikes!!

 

Whoever this Lukrofka is, he sounds like a real narcissist. He must one of those actor types that hangs around that Bones actor, jinx something or other.

Hoping we get a tweet from The HCP. Now that guy is pretty cool

 

Very cool arena. I'm glad the Clippers are becoming a legit team in their own right and not just getting the leftovers of the Lakers.

Kind of sad for Clippers fans their roster is such a joke with none of their picks the next 4 years. The gamble was worth doing a few years ago as they had a legit contending roster, but this is the downside of going all in.

 

ESPN did an arena rank article last week, they didn't actually rank the Clippers arena but implied it would be #1.

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/41557829/top-nba-arenas-td-garden-intuit-dome-more

Kings
Knicks
Warriors
Celtics
Raptors
Pistons
Nets
Bucks
Lakers
Pacers

That is the rank of the top10.

Blazers are ranked 18th

18. Moda Center, Portland Trail Blazers
Location: Portland, Oregon
Capacity: 19,393
Opening year: 1995

A basketball-driven city, Portland fans generate a raucous atmosphere at Moda Center, formerly known as the "Rose Garden," a moniker that still remains among die-hard Blazers fans. Next to the Willamette River, it sits just north of downtown Portland and public transportation makes getting to the venue an effective trip. Despite being this low in the overall rankings, Moda Center came in at sixth in food and concessions -- options include Oregon-based distilleries and breweries as well as Portland-based chains. Ranked 16th in amenities, Portland has the oldest NBA arena to not undergo a major renovation, though earlier this year the city agreed to do exactly that.

 

To be determined...: Intuit Dome, LA Clippers
Location: Los Angeles, California
Capacity: 18,000
Opening year: 2024

there have been some glitches that needed to be smoothed out, but Ballmer is hoping his technologically savvy arena will provide for a seamless fan experience.

Most notably, the 38,375 square foot Halo Board will display 4K images of replays, statistics and analytics throughout the game. Also, it's capable of firing T-shirts from cannons, hosting interactive games that fans can participate in from a console on their seats, and even uses software that can narrow the audio level down to each individual seat.


There is a full court to hoop outside, and on the seventh-floor terrace, fans can test their shooting and passing skills on the Shoot 360 immersive competition stations. On the concourse, there's an exhibit showcasing a jersey from every high school basketball team in California. Everything about the venue is by design, from the 1,100 toilets to the touchless concessions meant to mitigate typical long lines.

Even the opponents are in awe.

"The locker room area -- Golden State [Chase Center] has what I thought was the nicest, but this is Golden State times 10," one Mavericks assistant said after Dallas was the first team to visit Intuit Dome for a preseason game on Oct. 14. "That's the best arena in the NBA. It was spectacular. Ballmer's doing things that other people aren't going to do to create a great fan experience."

-- Youngmisuk

 

Whats more of a depressing big3 for a franchise?

Kawhi, Harden, Powell
or
Ayton, Grant, Ant

 

I'll be at the game. Hopefully your prediction come true!

 

In a year where there is a good draft class? The first one.

 

The rest of the Blazers roster and assets is clearly better. I'm not sure Scoot/Sharpe/Klingan will ever be a starter but they at least have upside that nobody on the Clippers has. But the main thing is the Blazers have all their own picks. Horrible for the Clippers they have none for 4 years. So yeah the year of a draft class is a benefit for us but irrelevant to the Clippers.

Clippers are probably one of the only rosters/picks/assets in the NBA that I prefer our collection over.

But just in terms of the big3 would you trade our Ayton/Grant/Ant trio for Kawhi/Harden/Powell? I think I would. The one thing is Kawhi contract is huge and with his injuries that might be a disaster, if he can't ever get healthy that could tip the scales to our group. Not many teams have a big3 that is possibly worse than the Blazers, but Clippers just might.

 

holy crap!

is that really how big that thing is? no photoshop?

 

they are both depressing, but the Clipper trio is a lot older. Much more talented but the talent is fading and in Kawhi's case, can't get healthy

Clippers draft pick situation is bad as all of their next 5 first round draft picks are encumbered. But at least two of those encumbrances are swaps so the Clippers will have 1st's in at least two of the drafts; maybe 3, but I'm not going to wade thru the maze of OKC protections/swaps this early in the day

LAC has no real youth on the team; no intriguing prospects. Of course that can be a 2-edge sword when it's time for rookie extensions

Clippers have to re-sign Zubac next summer so there's that question mark

however, the Clippers do have a couple of huge advantages over the Blazers: they have a totally committed owner willing to spend and take risks, whereas the Blazers have an ambivalent limbo ownership mess. And, the Clippers don't have a timid GM unable to pick a lane

 

It's only an advantage if it works out for them. So far it has been a lot of aggressive fuck ups. Starting with giving away SGA

 

It was a smart gamble at the time. Toronto gambled on Kawhi and won a title. Clippers gambled on him and never made the finals. Also the change in the CBA kind of fucked the Clippers, they probably resign PG13 if its the old CBA and only costs cash.

I like the Blazers future the next 3-7 years more than the Clippers - as the Clippers are really in a bad spot without picks. But after that period they'll be in a much better place going forward mostly with good ownership but also with a great location and arena.

Lakers made a similar gamble and won a title. Mavs gambled adding Kyrie and made the finals. But Phoenix/Brooklyn/Clippers made gambles and it hasn't worked. If I'm a Clippers fan I like that our team took a gamble and had a CHANCE. The Blazers have had zero chances, and I question if they will until new ownership. I guess our hope is the team lucks into a bunch of stars in the draft which seems like a much bigger longshot at best.

 

Yup its big