Power Ranking L.A. Clippers Biggest Concerns for the Second Round

The inexperienced Los Angeles Clippers are behind the eight-ball in their second round showdown with the San Antonio Spurs after losing Game 1 by a hefty margin.

Although the Clippers showed some of the fight and resiliency that got them through their first round series against the Grizzlies, they still have many adjustments and improvements to make if they want to give the Spurs a run for their money.

Here are five concerns for the Clips in round two of the playoffs.

5. Coaching

Alas, there's nothing the Clippers can do about this one. 

Vinny Del Negro may be a solid NBA head coach one day, but he's not right now and he won't wake up tomorrow as one. (Maybe he should stay at a Holiday Inn Express.)

Meanwhile, the reigning NBA Coach of the Year, Gregg Popovich, prowls the other sideline looking for his fifth championship ring. 

This won't be a fair fight.

4. Free-Throw Shooting

The Clippers were the second-worst team in the regular season at converting freebies. Nothing has changed in the playoffs, as the Clips have the lowest free-throw percentage of any team in the postseason.

In order to shoot well from the line, you must first get to the line. In Game 1 versus the Spurs, the Clippers attempted just 13 free-throws as a team. 

Kenyon Martin led the Clips with four attempts, half of those coming when Popovich had Martin intentionally fouled away from the ball to send him to the line.

Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, who averaged a combined 12 free-throw attempts per game in the regular season and 13 a game in round one, cobbled together a whopping two foul shots over 66 minutes of floor time.

Presumably the Clippers won't suddenly start knocking down 80 percent of their free-throws, but if they get to the line repeatedly, the sheer weight of numbers will get them extra points.

3. Rebounding

Here is one area the Clippers can control. 

So far in the playoffs, the Clips have been consistently out-rebounded and that trend continued Tuesday night in San Antonio, where the Spurs held a huge 47-34 rebounding edge.

There's no excuse for the Clippers not to grab boards, especially against a Spurs team lacking in size. Tim Duncan is the only real big man getting major minutes for San Antonio, yet no Clipper pulled down double digit rebounds.

The smallest player on the floor for L.A., Eric Bledsoe, had as many offensive rebounds as the rest of the team combined. That can't happen if the Clips want to win this series.

2. Find Offense from a Source Other Than Chris Paul

The Spurs are a savvy defensive team, and they showed in Game 1 that they have a solid game plan in place to contain Chris Paul.

Paul was basically the entire offense for the Clippers all season, and when he's not in total control L.A. looks lost on the offensive end of the floor.

In the first round, the Clippers were the only team among the 16 postseason participants to have fewer than three players average 10 points a game.

Eric Bledsoe stepped up in Game 1, leading the Clippers with 23 points, but all that did was cancel out Paul's six point outing.

Not only do other guys need to be aggressive and score the ball, but they have to create for each other as well. The five perimeter players other than Paul tallied five assists during their 118 minutes of court time in Game 1.

1. Team Defense

San Antonio came into the second round leading all playoff teams in points per game, field goal percentage, and three-point percentage.

The Clippers did nothing to change that in Game 1, as the Spurs rang up 109 points on 49 percent from the field and 52 percent from deep.

While L.A. did a good job holding down Tony Parker (1-9, seven points), role players like Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green knocked down open shots all night (combined 11-19 FG, 6-9 3-PT).

The Spurs racked up 29 assists on their 39 made baskets, showing off the surgical precision that made them the NBA's best offense in 2012.

If there's one thing that the Clippers must focus on for the rest of the series, it's tightening up the defense and slowing down San Antonio's offensive attack.