Los Angeles Clippers Won't Reach Title Potential Without Defensive Improvement
PLAYA VISTA, Calif. — Ask the Los Angeles Clippers about what's gone wrong with their defense this preseason or what they can do to fix it, and you're bound to field a wide range of answers—or not much of an answer at all.
"Well, we haven’t done it. Other than that, we haven’t played it well, but we’ll be better," head coach Doc Rivers said at practice on Wednesday, before pivoting toward his concerns about the team's disappointing offense.
When asked what the Clippers can do to tighten up their defense ahead of the 2014-15 campaign, Chris Paul said, "Get better."
Matt Barnes' advice? "Relax."
Well, OK then.
Probe a bit deeper, though, and you'll find that the Clippers are well aware of what's ailing them in October, and that suggesting the team's defense stinks does little to unpack the problem.
Indeed, the Clippers have been nothing short of awful when it comes to stopping the opposition. Through their first three preseason games, they surrendered a whopping 111 points per outing, were outrebounded each time and watched two of their opponents (i.e. the Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz) combine to shoot 31-of-55 (56.4 percent) from three-point range.
"It’s been staggering, the amount of threes," Barnes noted. "We realize now that we’re not going to sneak up on anybody. We have a target on our back. Teams play like that even in the preseason.
"The way that Utah and Portland shot the ball blew me away. We just have to do a better job of playing as a unit on the defensive end and covering for each other."
That point, in particular, would seem out of step with where these Clippers would've otherwise expected to be. Last season, L.A. improved from 26th in opponent three-point percentage (.373) to tops in the NBA in that department (.332), per NBA.com.
Perhaps, then, that part of the Clippers' house will be in order once the games start to matter. Of greater concern—particularly to Rivers—are the club's continued struggles on the glass.
"We have proven that we’re not a good rebounding team," Rivers said. "We have to be a great rebounding team, and we can be that. We have to be better at it, but that’s our No. 1 issue to me."
He wasn't kidding, either. A season ago, the Clippers checked in as the league's fifth-worst rebounding team, collecting 72.5 percent of the opposition's misses, per NBA.com.
This despite a frontcourt that featured Blake Griffin, a threat to chip in 20 points and 10 rebounds every time he takes the floor, and DeAndre Jordan, who paced the field in rebounds per game (13.6) and defensive rebounds (9.5) while checking in second in rebound chances (19.3) and contested rebounds (5.6) and fifth in rebound percentage (.704), according to NBA.com.
Rivers suggested that Jordan's dominance in that department might actually work against the Clippers. "Sometimes I think they assume that DJ’s going to get it," he surmised. "You can see that on film. A shot goes up, and everybody’s gone except for DJ. Like, 'DJ will get it.'
"Well, he can’t get them all, so we have to be a better rebounding team, clearly."
Jordan certainly can't corral every carom if he also has to cover for mistakes made by his teammates far from the interior. "There’s so much guard penetration, our bigs are helping all the time, and then now they’re off the body of their big, so their big has a free run to the basket," Rivers explained. "The best way to be a better rebounding team is to eliminate dribble penetration, and we haven’t done that."
Added Barnes: "It’s got to be a team effort."
| Clippers | 104.8 | 72.5% | 48.4% | 33.2% |
| League Average | 106.6 | 74.5% | 50.1% | 36% |
It would help, too, if said team weren't still in flux. For one, the Clippers still haven't settled on a starter at small forward. Barnes, Reggie Bullock and Chris Douglas-Roberts have taken turns in that spot so far, with middling results.
Not that the Clippers are losing sleep over who gets the first crack at it from game to game. "I don’t really care," Rivers insisted. "I just care about 48 minutes at the 3 spot."
The bigger problem, as far as cohesion is concerned, may well be the reserves. Jamal Crawford is the lone full-season holdover who's returning to the bench. Glen Davis and Hedo Turkoglu are back after joining the Clippers midseason in 2013-14. Jordan Farmar and Spencer Hawes, on the other hand, are just getting comfortable in Clippers colors.
"Our first unit, we’ve been together," Paul pointed out. "But our second unit, guys haven’t really played together yet."
That should change over time, as L.A.'s subs get a better feel for one another on the court. For now, their faults are bound to be exposed—and, in turn, drag down the team's overall defensive performance—if only because they're playing more minutes in the preseason than they would under regular-season circumstances.
For that reason, the Clippers aren't exactly slamming on the panic button in response to their defensive woes. They still have five exhibitions left—five opportunities to iron out the wrinkles and grow as a team—before their pursuit of the franchise's first championship begins in earnest on Oct. 30 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
"We haven’t played it well, but we’ll be better," said Rivers. "I’m not that concerned about it right now, to be honest."
Added Barnes: "We’ve all been here before. We have a very talented team, veteran-driven team and a great staff. We have everything it takes. That’s why I’m not too concerned because I think right now, it’s more between the ears than anything for us."
And Paul? "I think we all know what to do. Just, right now, part of it is being in the preseason. Everyone’s a step slow, second-guessing and stuff like that, but we’ll get it there."
On that much, the Clippers can agree.
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