This team needs a closer

[Erose]

Just that. Last nights game made it perfectly obvious that they don’t have one. No body wanted to take THE shot.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[luigi modelo]

They were short handed last night while on the back end of a back to back. Tired legs were the culprit last night. We may not have an established closer, but it's starting to look like we have a few guys who won't mind taking on that role.

[Pelicanidae]

AD is a closer. I swear no one remembers this. Can't remember where it was that I saw it, but I'm pretty sure AD is one of the clutchest players of the last decade by the statistic. No surprise we lost with a guy who gives you 25/10 OUT.

The issue with last game had absolutely nothing to do with personnel, and in fact everyone who played did their job and put on a show. Sometimes you just lose, especially when you're so short-handed. It happens. Move on.

[Topdawg26]

AD is a closer. I swear no one remembers this. Can't remember where it was that I saw it, but I'm pretty sure AD is one of the clutchest players of the last decade by the statistic. No surprise we lost with a guy who gives you 25/10 OUT.

The issue with last game had absolutely nothing to do with personnel, and in fact everyone who played did their job and put on a show. Sometimes you just lose, especially when you're so short-handed. It happens. Move on.

Couldn't have said it better!

[Erose]

It ain’t just last night. It’s every night they play. 4Q is this teams Achilles heel because we don’t have an effective closer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Pelicanidae]

It ain’t just last night. It’s every night they play. 4Q is this teams Achilles heel because we don’t have an effective closer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If you think we don't have a clutch player, then you aren't watching the games. At least, you aren't watching them very attentively. AD has been, his entire career, ice cold clutch. Yes it would be nice if we had a team jam packed with ADs and Damien Lillards, but we don't, and to be frank nobody does.

When AD is out, we will miss him. Part of that includes missing his clutch abilities (remember the 3 he hit over KD to send us the playoffs a few years ago? The one that was in the same season where he shot 100% from the field when the score was within 5 points with 2 minutes or less to go?) But the idea that this team simply doesn't have any clutch players is just flat out wrong.

[msw2024]

AD is our closer and rightfully should be. Boogie and Jrue are not as good at being “clutch”. I think AD should touch the ball every possession in the final 2 minutes. The only knock on AD is sometimes he is passive. I wish he would come out and tell Boogie or Jrue to give him the ball like Kobe, Lebron, etc do during clutch times.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Bricklayer]

Fewer teams have "closers" than might be popularly conceived. And the numbers don't suggest the Pels are lacking at all.

Cousins very much likes to take those shots BTW, and always has. But things weren't going his way and I think he was trying to be smart. And when A.D. is available he's a good option with the one proviso that as a closer he's a bit hampered by not creating for himself at an elite level, so you sort of need two guys to be clutch for you -- a ballhandler to set A.D. up, and A.D. to finish it. Jrue...well, Jrue is just terrifying with the ball in the final minutes. But you can't have it all.

Anyway, according to nba.com in the clutch:

Cousins 2.8pts on .587TS%
Davis 1.8pts on .588TS%
Rondo 1.4pts on .875TS%
Nelson 1.3pts on .604TS%
Holiday 1.1pts on .446TS%
Moore 1.1pts on .619TS%

[luigi modelo]

Jrue made some mistakes in past games during crunch time, but the two most glaring were during a period of guys not knowing each other well. People need to pump the breaks that he is "terrifying with the ball" in crunch time. Considering that he is now playing the 2, I have full confidence in his abilities to hit a big shot in the closing minute/seconds. I also have full confidence in AD and Boogie as closers. Using the Houston game as a barometer of our teams closing abilities isn't apt, imo.

[Pelicanidae]

Jrue made some mistakes in past games during crunch time, but the two most glaring were during a period of guys not knowing each other well. People need to pump the breaks that he is "terrifying with the ball" in crunch time. Considering that he is now playing the 2, I have full confidence in his abilities to hit a big shot in the closing minute/seconds. I also have full confidence in AD and Boogie as closers. Using the Houston game as a barometer of our teams closing abilities isn't apt, imo.

Judging any player on the final few minutes of a game in which they've been forced to play 40+ minutes (with no OT!) Isn't apt. You just can't do that.