Los Angeles Clippers' Most Startling Statistics of 2014-15 Season so Far
The Los Angeles Clippers entered the 2014-15 season with enough talent to make a serious run at an NBA championship. Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan headline a roster that went a franchise-best 57-25 in 2013-14.
With two top-10 players and an elite rebounder as their returning leaders, the Clippers seem primed to build on that regular-season success this time around. Winning an NBA title is the goal.
This season so far, they don't appear to be a championship-caliber team.
Instead, Los Angeles looks like a middling playoff contender in the difficult Western Conference at 5-4 through nine contests. They've taken steps backward in several key areas in head coach Doc Rivers' second year.
Here are some numbers that we wouldn't think belong to such a strong squad.
Win percentage
The Clippers finished with a .695 win percentage last season, which earned them a Pacific Division title and a No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. This time around, a .555 mark is somewhat discouraging.
In the Clips' defense, the schedule to this point has been difficult. The four losses have come against opponents with a combined 28-13 record.
A seven-game road trip set to begin Nov. 19 in Orlando could be the start of a turnaround.
Rebounding
The Clippers are dead last in rebounding this season with a measly average of 37.4 per game. How that happens with a front line featuring Griffin and Jordan is baffling.
What's most disturbing is the fact that Jordan won the rebounding crown in 2013-14 with a season average of 13.6. This year, he's grabbing over one fewer board per outing at 12.4.
Griffin should shoulder most of the blame here. His average is down from 9.5 to 7.3 over the same stretch.
With the starting 4 and 5 spots averaging a net 3.4 fewer boards per game, it's not difficult to see where the deficiency lies. They need to get in better positions to extend possessions on the offensive end and secure them defensively.
Points allowed per 100 possessions
If the Clippers' measure of success is the Larry O'Brien Trophy, they've got some hard work ahead of them on the defensive end. They're allowing 108.4 points per 100 possessions. That defensive rating ranks them 23rd out of 30 teams.
Championship teams don't give up buckets like that.
To add that perspective, here's a look at the last 10 NBA champions, their respective defensive ratings and relative rank during the regular season:
| Team | Defensive Rating | NBA Rank |
| San Antonio Spurs | 102.4 | 3 |
| Miami Heat | 103.7 | 9 |
| Miami Heat | 100.2 | 4 |
| Dallas Mavericks | 105.0 | 8 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 103.7 | 4 |
| Los Angeles Lakers | 104.7 | 6 |
| Boston Celtics* | 98.9* | 1* |
| San Antonio Spurs | 99.9 | 2 |
| Miami Heat | 104.5 | 9 |
| San Antonio Spurs | 98.8 | 1 |
* Doc Rivers was head coach
The caveat here is that it's still early. The Clippers have time to work on their issues.
Defending the wings more effectively is going to be critical. In nine games, opponents are shooting 36.5 percent from the three-point line.
That's good for 20th among 30 teams, and it demonstrates a key area of concern moving forward.
Free-throw percentage
A major positive for the Clippers this season has been their noticeable improvement at the charity stripe. They're shooting 76.4 percent thus far, good for a No. 15 rank.
The improvement from a 73.0 percent mark (No. 26 rank) last year is substantial enough that it's making up for their deficiencies in other areas to a degree.
Los Angeles is averaging 27.3 free-throw attempts per game this season. At that number, the difference between shooting 76.4 percent versus 73.0 is exactly one point.
That might not seem like a lot, but when considering that free throws make up approximately 20.6 percent of this team's offense, it carries more weight.
What's more is that Griffin has continued to improve on his 64.4 percent career average with a 70.6 percent mark this year.
Is it possible that kid Blake actually listened to NBA Blake from the future?
For a player on the cusp of being the league's most valuable player, those subtle improvements make all the difference, especially for a player who takes as much contact as Griffin.
Numbers don't always tell the complete story. In these cases, however, the Clippers would do well to correct some of these downward trends.
More importantly, though, they'll need to continue their improvement in the areas where they've made strides in the right direction.
Not all is lost in Clipper Land. With Rivers at the helm and star players at their disposal, it's only a matter of time before they turn some of these anomalies upside down.
All advanced statistics via Basketball-Reference
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