{"id":1566,"date":"2016-10-17T15:57:17","date_gmt":"2016-10-17T19:57:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprobasketball.com\/?p=1566"},"modified":"2016-10-17T15:57:17","modified_gmt":"2016-10-17T19:57:17","slug":"keys-los-angeles-clippers-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2016\/10\/17\/keys-los-angeles-clippers-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Key Factors to a Successful Los Angeles Clippers Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

During the 2016-17 NBA<\/strong> season, headlines will be dominated by Kevin Durant<\/strong> <\/a>and the Golden State Warriors<\/strong> on a daily basis. However, having a super-team doesn\u2019t guarantee a championship; just look at the 2012-13 Los Angeles Lakers<\/strong>. Everything can change and anything can happen in the NBA. A team can implode, the injury bug could strike, or a team simply might not play to its potential. In this Last Word On Pro Basketball<\/strong><\/a> series, we\u2019ll break down which two key factors will determine the fate of each NBA team in the upcoming season.<\/em><\/p>\n

In this edition, we\u2019ll take a look at the Los Angeles Clippers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Two Key Factors to a Successful Los Angeles Clippers Season<\/strong><\/h1>\n

The Los Angeles Clippers<\/strong> have an inglorious playoff history, making only twelve appearances in 46\u00a0years. Unarguably, we are witnessing the franchise\u2019s most successful era to date. L.A. has earned playoff berths in each of\u00a0the last five seasons. Yet the Clippers have never made it past the second round, plagued by injuries<\/a>\u00a0 and epic team meltdowns<\/a>. Their\u00a0talented core of Chris Paul<\/strong><\/a>, Blake Griffin<\/strong><\/a>, DeAndre Jordan<\/strong><\/a>, and J.J. Redick<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is returning\u00a0for the 2016-17 season. They’ve also got solid\u00a0role players including\u00a0Jamal Crawford<\/strong> <\/a>and Marreese Speights<\/strong><\/a> coming off the bench. All of that should add up to\u00a0a great\u00a0season for the Clippers. In fact, they may prove to be the only team in\u00a0the Western Conference\u00a0<\/strong>with enough star power to challenge the Golden State Warriors<\/strong> for the conference title.<\/p>\n

First Key: The Bench<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Clippers’\u00a0greatest weakness over the last five\u00a0years has been\u00a0their lack of depth. This off-season, L.A.\u00a0sought to address that issue by re-signing key supporting players, as well as\u00a0rounding out its\u00a0bench with some experienced veterans on one- or two-year minimum deals.\u00a0Below, we take a closer look at some of these players.<\/p>\n

Marreese Speights<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Forward-center Marreese Speights<\/u><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0 was a great off-season acquisition for the Clippers. So far, in\u00a0the preseason, he has\u00a0proven to be a good fit in their bench rotation. Speights, who spent the last three seasons with the Warriors, has scored in double-digits in three out of four exhibition contests. He’s also been strong on the boards, with rebound totals of five, six, and eight.\u00a0His ability to consistently hit mid-range jump shots and three-pointers will help open up the floor for the Clippers offensively, expanding their scoring options. Speights lacks the defensive spark of Cole Aldrich<\/a><\/strong>, who left the Clippers as a free agent in the off-season. Nonetheless, Speights is a competent back-up big man. He\u00a0had some nice moments for the Warriors last season, averaging 7.1 points and 3.3 boards in just 11.6 minutes per game, and should provide similar contributions\u00a0in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Brandon Bass<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The Clippers get some extra depth in the power forward spot with former Los Angeles Lakers\u00a0<\/strong>forward\u00a0Brandon Bass<\/strong><\/a>. Although Bass averaged just over seven\u00a0points and four\u00a0rebounds per game with the Lakers last year, his poorest performance since the 2009-10 season, he is capable of offering solid production off the bench.\u00a0 Bass demonstrated his scoring ability\u00a0this past week with a 16-point (7-13 FG, 2-2 FT), six-rebound performance against the Portland Trail Blazers<\/strong>. Along with Speights, Bass considerably improves the Clippers reserve frontcourt heading into the regular season.<\/p>\n

Alan Anderson<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Injuries may prove to be an issue with guard\/forward Alan Anderson<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0who signed with the Clippers in early August. Anderson was sidelined by ankle, groin, and hamstring injuries for all but 13 games with the Washington Wizards<\/strong> last season. The 6’6″ Anderson is best known for his defensive prowess on the wing. However, he’s also a decent shooter, making\u00a034.5\u00a0percent of his three-pointers in his career.\u00a0With the Wizards, Anderson averaged 5.0 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game. The seven-year veteran\u2019s career statistics are slightly higher, at 7.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game. Anderson\u2019s ability to produce on offense could prove valuable to the Clippers. When healthy, he may be able to\u00a0stretch\u00a0the floor and pull\u00a0defenders away from Paul and Redick.<\/p>\n

Anderson has been battling with Luc Mbah a Moute<\/strong>\u00a0and Wesley Johnson<\/strong><\/a> for the starting small forward role during this exhibition season. However, it’s more than likely that Anderson will come\u00a0off the bench. Earlier this month, he was one of very few bright spots in the Clippers\u2019 45-point loss <\/a>to the Warriors. Anderson contributed ten\u00a0points in just 11 minutes on the floor. He shot 2-for-3\u00a0from the field and 5-for-5 from the free throw line.\u00a0 If he can stay healthy, Anderson should\u00a0have success in the Clippers\u2019 lineup.<\/p>\n

Returning Bench Players<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The Clippers re-signed three-time Sixth Man of the Year<\/strong> award winner Jamal Crawford<\/strong>, reserve\u00a0guard Austin Rivers<\/strong><\/a>, and the aforementioned\u00a0Wesley Johnson.<\/p>\n

Crawford\u2019s role with the Clippers is crucial, as he gives\u00a0the team an offensive spark off the bench. While Crawford\u2019s offensive abilities are undeniable, he has a tendency to be streaky, and his defense is often uninspiring. Rivers, whose abilities are frequently overshadowed by claims of nepotism, has fared decently on offense.\u00a0Rivers’\u00a0real\u00a0strengths, though, are\u00a0on the defensive end. Both Crawford and Rivers lack the ability to incorporate others into the offense well. Their heavy reliance on isolation play stalls\u00a0the Clippers offense by reducing flow and ball movement.<\/p>\n

Johnson, the fourth pick in the 2010 NBA Draft<\/strong>, has never\u00a0played up to expectations. Although he can hit open jumpshots and be a\u00a0disruptive force on defense, Johnson\u2019s overall contributions to the Clippers have been underwhelming. Johnson averaged just seven points and three\u00a0rebounds in 21 minutes per game last season.\u00a0Still, no one really expects him\u00a0to improve this season. The Clippers have long struggled to secure competency and depth at the small forward position. Time will tell if this season\u2019s rotation of Johnson, defensive stopper Mbah A Moute, and Anderson provides the Clippers with capable enough options to work towards their\u00a0championship aspirations.<\/p>\n

Second Key: Stagger Griffin and Paul<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Doc Rivers<\/strong>‘ substitution rotations have mostly consisted of playing and sitting Griffin and Paul together. Staggering the on-court time of two star players can work, as we have seen with teams like the San Antonio Spurs<\/strong> and the Oklahoma City Thunder<\/strong>. In order to maximize the Clippers\u2019 offensive efficiency and maintain the health of their stars through playoffs, Rivers should consider making such an adjustment to his player rotations to better capitalize on existing squad talent.<\/p>\n

Paul Doesn\u2019t Need Griffin on the Floor <\/strong><\/h4>\n

Chris Paul is an elite playmaker. He led the league in assists in\u00a0two of the last three seasons, averaging over 10 assists per game<\/a>. He\u00a0actually\u00a0ranks\u00a011th<\/a> among\u00a0the NBA’s all-time assists leaders.\u00a0 He also ranks second of all time for assist percentage, with a career average of 47.15 percent<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In Griffin\u2019s absence last season, Paul assisted on a league-leading 52.7 percent <\/a>of his team’s baskets while on the floor.\u00a0He also confirmed his status as a scoring threat. His points per game average<\/a> during Griffin’s absence was the highest since he joined the Clippers. In\u00a0January\u00a0and\u00a0February 2016, he averaged over\u00a021 points per game. <\/a><\/p>\n

In fact, Paul let the Clippers\u00a0to 31 wins in 45 games without Griffin last\u00a0season. That illustrates just how good the team can be without\u00a0both stars\u00a0on the floor. That is not to say that Paul and Griffin aren’t great together, as they obviously are. It’s just that\u00a0in order to survive the season and reach the playoffs at peak performance, they may have to spend some time apart.<\/p>\n

Griffin as a Second Unit Anchor<\/strong><\/h4>\n

One of the benefits of staggering Paul and Griffin is that it would allow Griffin to serve as an anchor for the Clippers\u2019 historically under-achieving second unit. Griffin is easily one of the most skilled big men in the NBA, especially as a facilitator.\u00a0He averaged 4.9 assists per game last season, and 5.3 in 2014-15<\/a>. He achieved a career-high assist percentage of 27.2 last season and 26.2 in 2014-15<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Griffin was an absolute force in the 2015 playoffs, when Paul was forced to miss a couple of games due to a\u00a0hamstring\u00a0injury<\/a>. Griffin\u00a0averaged 30 points, 14.5 rebounds, and 8.5 assists per game in the first two contests\u00a0of the Houston series that Paul missed. For the entire postseason<\/a>, he averaged 6.1 assists per game.<\/p>\n

Pairing Griffin\u2019s playmaking ability with the second unit makes sense. It will help stabilize the offense and avoid dips in production during game rotations. When the offense is run through Crawford or the younger Rivers, it frequently stagnates, devolving into a series of isolation plays\u00a0and rendering other players useless on the court. Griffin is an excellent passer with superb court vision, has the quickness and dribbling ability to lead a fast break, and exhibits sound decision-making. He presents a constant offensive threat with his ability to drive, dunk, and nail mid-range jumpers, but can just as easily facilitate for\u00a0Crawford, Johnson, and Rivers in catch-and-shoot situations. Griffin\u2019s interior passing ability would also allow better utilize\u00a0the newly-acquired veteran big men, Bass and Speights.\u00a0With all of these positives, Doc Rivers has should\u00a0test sets allowing the Clippers to run their second unit\u2019s offense through Griffin.<\/p>\n

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Main photo:<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n