LA Clippers Find 'Lob City' Swag at Critical Time
Off to a 2-0 start on what promises to be a revealing seven-game road trip, the Los Angeles Clippers are beginning to resemble the club that claimed a franchise-record 57 victories a season ago. That is to say, they're looking a little bit like contenders again—even if their solid but unremarkable 7-4 record hasn't exactly left that impression.
Thursday night's 110-93 victory over the Miami Heat was the latest evidence of a reawakening. Chris Paul's 26 points and 12 assists led the way for a club that raced out to a 39-15 lead after the first 12 minutes of play.
Sixth man Jamal Crawford did his best CP3 impersonation with nine assists of his own. Altogether, the Clippers finished with a season-high 31 assists on 43 made field goals—several of which came amidst the often electric transition game for which this team is known. Miami may have been missing Dwyane Wade, but he probably wouldn't have altered the outcome, not with L.A.'s Lob City alter ego taking over.
These Clippers would not be denied some cause for celebration.
All six of center DeAndre Jordan's field goals were dunks, which should illustrate all you need to know about how effectively this team was creating high-percentage looks.
"We're doing what we're supposed to do," Paul told reporters after the contest.
At its best, head coach Doc Rivers' squad seems to channel its highly decorated floor general. The offense is selfless, aggressive and purposeful. Los Angeles ranked third league-wide with 24.6 assists per game last season and led all teams in offensive efficiency with 109.4 points per 100 possessions.
Simply put, this team is no stranger to scoring the ball efficiently, and its commitment to taking good shots has a lot to do with that. Tempting as it may be to hand Blake Griffin the ball and get out of the way, that's not how the Clippers operate when the offense is purring.
It hasn't been all smooth sailing for L.A.
While the Clippers opened their road trip with a decisive 114-90 win against the Orlando Magic, they're now just 3-4 against teams with .500-or-better records. And in three of those four losses, they scored 92 points or less.
As CBSSports.com's Matt Moore recently argued, "The problem is not the losses, or their struggles. It's the way they're struggling."
And it's been enough to spur a little introspection at the outset of Rivers' second season running the show.
"We had the same kind of start last season," Crawford told reporters this week. "We need to figure it out and I think getting away and getting back with each other on this road trip will be good for us."
Last season's Clippers went 3-3 out of the gate before finishing November with a strong 9-2 push. But there's no question this roster hit its stride in January, February and March. Just 11 games into the Clippers' 2014-15 campaign, that stride has proved elusive.
"They just look lethargic," one scout told CBSSports.com's Ken Berger prior to Thursday's game. "They're a shell of what they were last year."
L.A.'s recent 105-89 loss to the Chicago Bulls (sans Derrick Rose and Pau Gasol) highlighted questions about this team's ability to get stops, but there are also reasons for broader concern. Coming into Thursday's contest, the Clippers ranked 21st in defensive efficiency, yielding 104.3 points per 100 possessions.
So while the Clippers can build upon an outing in which they made 55.8 percent of their field-goal attempts (including a 13-of-31 mark from beyond the three-point arc), holding the Heat to 93 points may be just as important. Maintaining some momentum throughout the remainder of this road show will require some defensive stands—especially during next week's meeting with the 9-3 Houston Rockets.
With five away games left before a four-game homestand beginning Dec. 1, now is a good time to reestablish a two-way identity and rediscover the winning habits to which this team's become accustomed.
"I like going on the road," Rivers told reporters this week. "It's an opportunity to find yourself."
The San Antonio Spurs have famously used their annual "Rodeo Road Trip" in February as an opportunity to build cohesion after the All-Star break. Perhaps the Clippers can adopt a similar strategy en route to some midseason momentum.
A little connectivity can go a long way for a team that's been relying so heavily on its admittedly talented individual parts.
"I thought our trust was broken in the Chicago game," Rivers told the media after the loss. "I thought we all tried to do it individually. That is the old way we played. We had the ball in one spot. We made some miraculous shots, but it is hard to beat a team with great defense that way. That was proved."
Just as Thursday proved what 31 assists can accomplish.
"We just got to keep trying to get everyone involved and be aggressive," Paul told the media after losing to Chicago.
It's the Clippers way. It's Chris Paul's way.
And it was on full display during a first-quarter explosion that almost single-handedly erased any fears this team had somehow taken a step back.
"Not a whole lot to say," Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters after Thursday's game. "That was a blitz in that first quarter. They absolutely knocked us on our heels and we just could never gain our footing after that."
The Clippers have a way of doing that when playing their brand of ball.
Maybe some time away from Staples Center will remind them how to do just that.
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