Los Angeles Clippers Running the League
The league’s best team is firing on all cylinders right now. Even as they pile leads upwards of 30 points, the Los Angeles Clippers say their focus is on the game as a whole. No other team is playing nearly as consistently right now. But it shouldn’t come as a surprise. The Clippers have had a solid unit of starters for a while now. So it’s about time they started gelling like this.
Center DeAndre Jordan blocks a shot by Blazers guard Damon Lillard in an early season match against Portland.
On Monday night, they routed the Brooklyn Nets, 127-95, on their way to a seventh consecutive victory and a league best 10-1. Never mind the Warriors; the Clippers are the ones shining in the Pacific Division, and the Western Conference. Despite a tight schedule, they’ve kept their stamina up and their momentum going strong. In 16 days, the Clips have played 10 games, and won nine of them. Not to mention they’re beating teams by a differential of 16.6 points, while holding them to an average of 92.2 points per game. They say defense wins championships, and if LA keeps this up, we might just witness their first Finals appearance in franchise history.
“The defense is so good right now our offense is allowed easy baskets,” coach Doc Rivers said. “They’re angry when the other team scores.”
So what exactly, besides tenacity, has the Clippers dominating night in and night? Well, they’re killing it on a number of fronts. With Chris Paul averaging just under three steals per game, Los Angeles seems to have a certified five-finger discount. Currently, they lead the league with a game average of 10.4 steals. They also have the highest defensive rating (93.0) in the league. The Atlanta Hawks, who are playing with similar resolve in the backcourt, trail that with a rating of 95.8—not too shabby, but even still, when it comes to ratings, a differential of 2.8 is nothing to sneeze at.
On the boards, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan are each pulling in 7.4 and 8.8 defensive rebounds per game, with Chris Paul’s 5.0 shortly behind that. They’re currently third among teams in that category, with an average of 36 defensive boards per night. Plus, they’re limiting teams to a .409 field goal percentage—the best in the league.
Aside from actual defensive stats, they’re managing to control the ball well on offense. They owe much of that to the best point guard in the game, Mr. Chris Paul. Let’s face it; the guy is beast. Offensively, he makes very few mistakes. With him taking such great care of the ball, it’s hard for teams to create transition baskets. If you rely on fast-break opportunities to generate points, you can reasonably expect to lose against LA. With the third fewest offensive turnovers in the game, the Clips are forcing opponents to set up at half court. Few teams have the sort of backcourt strength that the Clippers are sporting. Paul, J.J. Redick, and Luc Mbah a Moute have each been giving ball handlers fits throughout the year. With so much disruptive force on defense, LA has teams struggling to get going in their standard offense—which means they can eliminate isolation and pick-and-roll as effective scoring tactics against LA.
Not to mention big men Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, two of the most lethal post players in the game. Without equal strength in the paint, teams have backed off the post game as a means of scoring. So where does that leave their opponents? Well, it leaves them settling for pull-up jumpers and teeth pulling to keep up with LA’s powerful offense.
When we add all this up, we’ve got ourselves the most well rounded team in the league. Sure, pundits expected the Clippers to be in the top five. But how many of us actually thought they’d get off to such a fiery start? I believe even I mentioned them as an afterthought in my NBA preview article. But here they are, dominating the league, sending opponents home with their heads so low they can see the bottom of their Nikes. Next up, the Clippers face the Memphis Grizzlies, the Sacramento Kings, and the Chicago Bulls, none of whom have shown real spark this year. Then, on December 7, the Golden State Warriors travel south to the Staples Center for what’s sure to be one of the year’s best matchups. Expect this to be a preview of the Western Conference Finals in 2017.
