Biggest Surprises and Disappointments for Los Angeles Clippers
Nearing the end of the calendar year, there is plenty of data available to compare and contrast the Los Angeles Clippers’ performance. While hopefully there are far more positives, the surprises and disappointments surrounding the team are easily visible.
Unfortunately, some of the struggles from last season, and early on this season, are still apparent. From fouling too much, to lacking a positive rebounding differential, the issues at hand begin to annoy everyone who consistently notices them.
Meanwhile, the surprises are invigorating. This season, most of the surprises have come offensively. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin have been outstanding, and the entire team is shooting the lights out.
Still, there are six areas that clearly stand out—good and bad—and it’s time to share them.
Surprise: Blake Griffin’s Extended Range
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The talk of the preseason, at least surrounding the Clippers, was Blake Griffin’s improved jumper. He has been working with shooting coach Bob Thate, whom the team hired in September 2012, and the results are noticeable.
Griffin’s form and consistency improved last season, but he was able to add range this summer. He is releasing the ball higher, and he has nearly eliminated the hitch in his shot, which plagued him for years.
Ben Dowsett of BBall Breakdown, analyzed Griffin's improved form during the preseason.
""Jump-shooting is a precise exercise by nature, and even the littlest adjustment like this can have large effects on the results. He’s made a couple other similar changes, though with slightly less consistency – he’s better at rising straight up for his shot and releasing the ball at the apex of his jump, though he still has blips here that are likely temporary returns to bad habits from earlier in his career. Griffin has also worked on eliminating the amount of arm action in his release; shooters want to be deriving their power on longer shots from their legs, as relying on the arm to generate this power often negatively impacts accuracy."
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As a result, Griffin has connected on seven threes already, increasing his career total from 26 to 33. Furthermore, he has also shot well on long twos, connecting on 39.1 percent from 16-23 feet, according to Basketball-Reference.com.
Once a dominant force in the paint, his improved shooting has pulled him out of the lane more and more each year—39.5 percent of his shot attempts come from 16 feet and out—making him a more well-rounded offensive player.
Disappointment: Blake Griffin’s Disappearance on the Glass
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During Griffin’s first two seasons, he was a rebounding machine, pulling down 12.1 and 10.9 RPG, respectively.
He had to work hard in the paint because his skills were still underdeveloped, but his athleticism and strength allowed him to fight for rebounds on both ends of the floor. This led to easy baskets from duck-ins and offensive rebounds.
However, as Griffin’s skill developed, his rebounding began to decrease. Part of that can be attributed to Doc Rivers’ system, which does not emphasize crashing the offensive glass, thus allowing the team to focus on transition defense.
Regardless, Griffin’s rebound totals have slid over the years and are at an all-time low—7.8 per contest—this season. The advanced metrics show a major decline as well, as Griffin’s defensive rebound percentage has dropped from 26.9 percent his rookie season to 18.6 currently.
Although Griffin is playing more on the perimeter now, and DeAndre Jordan is leading the league in rebounding, there needs to be a sense of urgency to secure the defensive glass. Griffin needs to provide his team with more defensive rebounding support, which would help the team defense as well.
Surprise: Team Shooting Efficiency
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When Rivers took over the Clippers, he immediately made it a point to add multiple shooters to space the floor around Chris Paul and Griffin’s pick-and-rolls.
Now in his second season, the shooting and spacing are paying dividends, as the Clippers are near the top in every shooting metric, including leading the league in points per shot and effective field-goal percentage, according to Basketball-Reference.
The biggest improvement has been in the Clippers' three-point shooting. Last season, the team finished 22nd, shooting 35.2 percent from deep. That mark is up to 38.3 percent this season, second in the league.
The floor is more balanced this season, considering Griffin is now a threat to nail jumpers. Opponents are forced to scramble through their defensive rotations, especially when the Clippers are sharing the ball, because of the their threats on the perimeter.
Whipping from shooter to shooter, one side of the floor to another, the perimeter players are seeing—and making—open threes.
The last part of the equation is Paul’s uncanny ability to create off the dribble, kicking out for corner threes and doing it all without turning the ball over. Meanwhile, Griffin’s extended range has only made him a more lethal passer, as he is setting a career high with 4.4 assists per game.
Disappointment: Defensive Struggles
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While Rivers’ offense has taken flight, his defense is still lagging behind. Per Basketball-Reference, the Clippers rank 15th in defensive rating—7th last season—, allowing 106.1 points per 100 possessions.
The defensive system that helped vault Rivers’ Boston Celtics to two NBA Finals appearances has yet to make its mark in Los Angeles. Rivers has been developing DeAndre Jordan into the backbone of his base defense, but the pieces surrounding him need to do a better job individually and as a team.
Although no one is going to mistake J.J. Redick, Jamal Crawford or Griffin for above-average defenders, there needs to be more cohesiveness between Jordan and the other four players on the court.
Jordan is responsible for protecting the rim and barking out rotations and assignments. Unfortunately, late rotations and breakdowns on the perimeter have complicated things for Rivers’ protege.
Surprise: Chris Paul’s Mastery with the Ball
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Long known as one of the best point guards in the league who's nearly impossible to force into a turnover, Chris Paul has been a maestro with the ball throughout his career. However, Paul has one-upped himself this season.
Paul is recording a career-low 12.2 turnover percentage, via Basketball-Reference. His mastery with the ball has been extraordinary. As a result, he leads all qualified players with a 4.75 assist-to-turnover ratio, according to NBA.com/Stats.
Surely, Paul has not forgotten the last few disastrous minutes of Game 5 against the Oklahoma City Thunder in last season’s playoffs. Seemingly on a mission to overcome the blunders and turnovers that cost the Clippers that game, Paul has taken his ball control to another level this season.
Disappointment: Reggie Bullock
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What seemed like a perfect fit for a defensive-minded shooting specialist from the University of North Carolina—and a team desperate for a perimeter defender who can shoot—has not paid dividends yet.
The real question is: why is Bullock is not seeing a steady diet of minutes, despite the team needing an answer at small forward? Only having played in 14 games this season, it seems apparent that Rivers does not trust Bullock. However, it is hard to tell if that is because of his offense or his defense, because he plays so little.
According to Dan Woike of the Orange County Register, Bullock feels he needs to earn Rivers' trust in order to see more minutes.
“I just try to do what I do, but at the same time I see it as another opportunity to build trust (from my) coach, just go out and play hard and play my game. My teammates know what I’m capable of doing, so I just have to continue to try to be consistent and not try to mess up the little things to build some trust and be able to play more.”
Bullock is shooting 40 percent from three, but he has a defensive rating of 108 and a defensive box plus-minus of minus-1.6, via Basketball-Reference.
It seems likely that Rivers simply does not trust Bullock with his assignments. Unfortunately, Bullock being a non-factor makes him a huge disappointment.
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