Chris Paul and L.A. Clippers' Biggest Advantages over the San Antonio Spurs

The Los Angeles Clippers just lost their second game in a row to the San Antonio Spurs, a team that hasn't lost a game in over a month, a team that has lost just three games in over two months. It's easy to understand that the Clippers would be quaking in their boots at this point.

Tim Duncan is playing like it's 2005; Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are running around and fooling every member of the Clippers with their slippery moves; and guys like Boris Diaw and Kawhi Leonard have come out of nowhere this year and are now playing big roles on what could be a championship team.

However, this is no time for Los Angeles to give up on this one. The Clippers has dug themselves a hole, but the series is moving back to Staples Center, and it's about time that they kick it into overdrive before they really get run out of this series.

So, what exactly can the Clippers do to get back into this series, you may ask? Well, they're going to need to play to their strengths and focus on their advantages over the Spurs rather than sulk about their disadvantages. Let's take a look at those advantages.

Poking That Ball Free

Over the course of the playoffs, and the entirety of this season for that matter, the Clippers have been great at stealing the ball from their opponents and turning the momentum in their favor with a fast-break.

On the season, they've averaged a full steal more per game than the Spurs with an 8.4 average.

They continued to be confident on defense into the first game of this series and walked away with 11 big steals. However, once the Spurs pulled away late in Game 1 and started to really put a stranglehold on this team, they weren't as capable of poking the ball free and switching the momentum.

The problem seems to be that they've gotten tight and almost scared when they get down big, and they're afraid to gamble in the passing lanes.

Youth

This isn't another guy trying to tell you that the Spurs are old—I think we're miles past thinking that that is a problem right now. However, I am going to say that it's an advantage for the Clippers that they have so many young guys on their team.

The core of the team—Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, along with guys like Eric Bledsoe, Mo Williams and Nick Young—is a youthful bunch that can get out and sprint.

The Spurs aren't nearly as young, and if a game turns into a sprinting contest, they'll tire out quicker if L.A. really is able to push the pace long enough.

Feeding off the Crowd

I think it's a byproduct of the youth that the Clippers really rely on the crowd to get them into a game at times. Sometimes it's a bad thing; other times it's a good thing.

The only thing I know at this point is that there was nothing to rally them in San Antonio. When the crowd isn't behind them, the only guy who seems to be able to do anything is Chris Paul, who is by far the most calm and collected guy on the floor for them.

With the series switching back to Los Angeles, they should be able to roll off the energy of the crowd and really make a run here and there just because of a block by DeAndre Jordan or a charge taken by Reggie Evans.

Shot Blocking

In both games against the San Antonio Spurs so far, the Clippers have out-blocked the San Antonio Spurs, which is something that you would have expected if you came in and just looked at the stats.

The Clippers have averaged nearly seven blocks a game in the playoffs where the Spurs have swatted just over five a game. On top of that, San Antonio has been the third most blocked team of the playoffs, getting over seven shots of theirs blocked each game.

L.A. has won the block battle in both games so far (nine to seven and seven to three in the first two games), but they haven't really turned it into much.

Perimeter Defense

It didn't really show in Game 1 when the Spurs shot 52 percent from the three-point line compared to L.A's 47 percent, but in Game 2 San Antonio shot 40 percent from deep compared to L.A's 69 percent. Of course it still hasn't shown a "W" for the Clippers.

Los Angeles not only has defenders who are better at defending one-on-one on the perimeter (Caron Butler and Kenyon Martin have done a great job all throughout the playoffs), but they have the quicker, younger big men who, when they know what they're doing, are better at closing out and rotating to the open man.

Point Guard Play

Yes, we are going to argue between two guys who had MVP type years, but the argument is there nonetheless.

Chris Paul happens to be, in my opinion at least, the best point guard in the NBA when it comes to not only leading his team, but being able to take over the game both on offense and defense. 

Tony Parker, meanwhile, has become an amazing offensive leader with the ability to take over a game on that end of the floor, but also a pretty good defender.

At the end of the day, however, Chris Paul is just a head above every other point guard in the league. The only problem is that the rest of his team is having trouble hanging with their San Antonio counterparts.

He's struggled a bit shooting the ball in this series, but it's hard to imagine that Chris Paul will continue to miss shots for another two (or more) games. 

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