Clippers vs. Lakers: Weaknesses Both Teams Must Correct
We're less than a week into the 2012-13 NBA season and the schedule is wasting no time getting to marquee matchups. Friday will have a bunch of strong games, but there is no more hyped contest than the battle for Los Angeles, as the Clippers and Lakers renew one of the league's most underrated rivalries.
While every matchup involving the Clippers and the Lakers will have hype, this one feels important for setting a tone. Despite abundant talent, both sides have shown curious weaknesses in the early going.
Obviously, we're at the very beginning of the season. The sample sizes are nowhere near statistically significant enough to draw any long-term conclusions.
However, coupled with our preseason assumptions about a team, one or two games can help back up the deficiencies you saw when looking at the roster on paper.
With that in mind, here is a look at weaknesses both the Lakers and Clippers need to correct in Friday night's matchup.
Los Angeles Clippers: Turnovers
Though a win is a win and all that good stuff, the Clippers would have had turnovers to thank had they gone down against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Vinny del Negro's squad turned the ball over a whopping 22 times against Memphis, including an embarrassingly high nine from center DeAndre Jordan. All told, the only Clippers player to not turn the ball over was Ronny Turiaf, who isn't exactly a player that touches the ball often.
This was a problem readily apparent in the preseason, where the team averaged 18 turnovers per game.
Luckily, this should be something that course corrects. The Clippers were second in the NBA last season, turning the ball over a mere 13.3 times per game.
On a team that has Chris Paul as its primary ball-handler, you don't expect performances like Wednesday night to happen often. However, after the preseason struggles, it's definitely something to monitor going forward.
Los Angeles Lakers: The Princeton Offense
For a glimpse into how basketball fans are feeling about the Lakers' new Princeton offense, all you need to do is type it into the Twitter search bar.
What you'll get is an amalgam of frustrated fans spouting off their frustration. Encompassing those thoughts with some snark was America's favorite troll, ESPN's Skip Bayless:
"Lakers should send that "Princeton offense" back to Ivy League. I scoffed at it before. Now I'm just laughing. Handoffs? Backcuts? Absurd.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) October 31, 2012"
Despite the Lakers' struggles, anyone who thought they would swimmingly move into the Princeton set doesn't know how basketball works. Considering the complicated cuts and the lack of minutes the starting lineup has been on the floor together, it was bound to take time.
When you have one of the most hyped teams in NBA history, fans just aren't so eager to afford patience. Remember though, it wasn't exactly the easiest transition when the Lakers moved to Phil Jackson's triangle offense, either.
Nonetheless, playing a third game in four nights should give the team enough comfort to at least show some positive signs.
Los Angeles Lakers: Rotation Minutes
All anyone looking for a legitimate criticism of Mike Brown through two games needs to do is look at the box score and note his abysmal use of the bench.
When your goal is to win a championship, there is absolutely no reason that Pau Gasol should play 40 minutes on consecutive nights. Or why Dwight Howard, a player coming off back surgery, has averaged 39.5 minutes per game thus far.
His overuse of the starters is especially questionable when considering the Lakers were down 16 points on Wednesday against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Brown is seemingly coaching with playoff urgency early in the season, like he knows his job is on the line.
If that trend continues, he will be out of a job because his players either won't stay healthy or will be worn out come May and June.
