5 Questions the Los Angeles Clippers Need Answered During the Preseason
The NBA preseason has arrived, and the Los Angeles Clippers have some questions to address.
The Western Conference is stacked with talent. Los Angeles will attempt to navigate through it to an NBA Finals berth.
Before that journey begins, the Clippers will look for answers. Over the offseason, Los Angeles rejuvenated its already-strong rotation with some veteran pieces and young talent.
Now's the time to begin putting them all together.
The following questions are just some that weigh on the minds of anyone with an interest in Clippers basketball. They're in no particular order, but each have significance in determining if a title run is feasible.
Everything in Clipper Land begins with Chris Paul, so that's where we'll start.
1. Is Chris Paul the Same Player?
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As the seven-time All-Star enters his age-29 season, there's already been predictable talk of Paul's skills diminishing. On a recent episode of ESPN's Numbers Never Lie, NBA insider Chris Broussard stirred the pot with these comments as transcribed by Larry Brown of LarryBrownSports.com:
"I’ve talked to a few executives — two in fact who are huge Chris Paul fans in the past and now — but they think he’s lost a little something. They felt like the way he crumbled in Game 5 against Russell Westbrook — they should have won that game — Chris makes two turnovers in the last 13 seconds — they felt like Westbrook’s athleticism overwhelmed Chris.
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Those are some poignant words from a source who knows the league inside and out.
If anyone believes the floor general isn't the same player, Paul's chance to dispel that perception begins in the exhibition season.
2. Will Lob City Return?
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Lob City died when Rivers came to town, but it could be reincarnated this season.
That's not because the Clippers want it to rise from the ashes. Instead, Rivers doesn't feel the team's conditioning is up to par.
As a result, he made them run lines, which is something he doesn't like to do. According to Melissa Rohlin of the Los Angeles Times, however, it's a must.
"I don't do it," Rivers said. "I do it when it's necessary. I think that's how poorly conditioned we were."
Los Angeles had just taken a 112-94 beating at the hands of the rival Golden State Warriors. That won't fly if the squad wants to take a step forward.
Maybe Lob City never left. But it's no secret Blake Griffin & Co. worked hard to shed the moniker last season.
Sometimes, alley-oops just happen. Sound defense and a solid transition game mixed with good conditioning tend to do create those opportunities.
Freakish athletes like DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin make it almost inevitable.
3. How Will Spencer Hawes Fit In?
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Spencer Hawes could be the missing link in the Clippers frontcourt. He's that good.
With a career average Basketball-Reference.com player efficiency rating (PER) of 14.4, he's proven to be a viable rotation player.
What's more is that Hawes is versatile big man who can score from all three levels, as evidenced by his 41.6 percent three-point shooting percentage and 45.6 overall field-goal percentage in the 2013-14 season.
His role will be defined as the preseason takes shape. He was brought in take pressure off both Griffin and Jordan.
How much he does is something the coaching staff will monitor closely.
4. Is LAC Already Missing Darren Collison?
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Darren Collison was a critical component of the Clippers' success last season. He filled in capably for Paul as the starting point guard for 35 games.
In those contests, he averaged 14.8 points and 5.3 assists in 33.8 minutes. He also contributed 1.5 steals per game on the defensive end.
Still, the Clippers let him walk in free agency over the summer.
Now, he'll write the next chapter of his NBA story with the Sacramento Kings. Jordan Farmar will attempt to fill in that critical backup point guard role in an ironic reversal of circumstances.
After the two were teammates for one season at UCLA, Collison replaced Farmar as the starting point guard.
Now, it's Farmar's turn to show what he can do.
5. Are the Defensive Issues a Trend?
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As Dan Woike of the Orange County Register points out, the Clippers have regressed in two key areas over three preseason losses.
Los Angeles led the league in opponents' three-point percentage a season ago with a 33.2 percent mark. In two games against the Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz, it's allowed a whopping 56.4 percent.
In the rebounding department, the Jazz grabbed 23 more boards than the Clippers. This was after the Clips were fifth-best in keeping opponents off the glass in 2013-14.
Things aren't trending in the right direction, and the path toward correcting these issues has already begun. Will the Clippers start to turn it around in the remaining slate of meaningless games?
The key to a deep postseason run could lie in the answer.
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