Feels like the answer is never someone who already has one so it’s between guys like Tatum/Luka/Embiid/Booker/SGA

Out of that group I’d probably go with Tatum because of how stacked the Celtics are overall and how many near misses they’ve had(could also see Embiid but I don’t think anyone truly sees the Sixers roster as championship caliber or actually expects them to win this year)

  • LoudKingCrow@alien.topB
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    1 year ago

    Shouldn’t the Clippers as a whole be feeling some of this pressure?

    When you assemble a team like that surely the expectation has to be ring or bust?

    • NetGlass4387@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      if you just look at the names in isolation, yep they should feel pressure but there is nothing there below the surface it appears. so far there have been fit issues between the big 4, harden is no longer a scorer and it seems kawhi has kind of lost a step too (too early but he’s been too on and off)

      • RickySuela@alien.topB
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        1 year ago

        It’s true that I don’t think the Clippers have any kind of realistic title shot (they may not even make the playoffs this year). However, Ballmer is really backed into a corner with this team of his, being way over the 2nd apron, having no picks left to trade this decade, and having all of his “big 4” players being free agents next summer. Is he just going to walk away from all of those players and open the new arena with a shitty team built around Mann, Hyland and Zubac? Ballmer needs to start seeing some returns for all these billions he’s spent on this team, because his alternatives to this team winning are really, really dire.

          • RickySuela@alien.topB
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            1 year ago

            Why do you think he bought the Clippers? Cause he’s a lifelong Clippers fan? As an investment? No. He bought them as a vanity project. If he spends more money than anyone in the league and his team is dogshit, that’s not doing anything for his ego.

            Do you really need to have it explained why a sports team owner wants to see his team win?

    • 0percentwinrate@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      They should, but between Kawhi’s incurable injury, PG’s podcast, an aging roster and West being a bloodbath, they also need to be realistic.

      • OldHeadReader@alien.topB
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        1 year ago

        People talk about this, but reality is no one cares but some nerds online.

        Fans still celebrate, rings are given, nothing changes.

    • NCHouse@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      Yea. I’ve been saying this. With the Nets going down in flames, the Clippers should have been facing the same, or even more, scrutiny l

    • 713MoCityChron713@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      All those guys are aging, especially Westbrick and Thick Ross. Everyone putting ‘ring or bust’ on that team is trapped in 2019

    • prodigus01@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      How funny would it be if OKC/Clippers squared off in the playoffs and OKC end up with winning.

    • JitteryBug@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      Honestly I don’t think so

      It feels like their window closed a while back - they were a genuine contender for a while, but at this point I don’t think anyone should expect them to win after all the injuries and team composition now

    • Tearz_in_rain@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      Harden was a desperation move.

      Like the Lakers bringing in Westbrook… everybody except LeBron knew that made the team worse off from the start.

      Clippers are just swinging for the fences now.

    • triclops41@alien.topB
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      1 year ago

      i don’t know. I think people call them dark horse contenders just to make the Clippers feel better about the failures of the Kawhi era.

      I think they have 0% chance to win it all. No way they can stay healthy all the way through while also managing to avoid playing any teams with legit big men.