How good can the LA Clippers be this year?
LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 07: Jamal Crawford #11 of the Los Angeles Clippers drives against Manu Ginobili #20 of the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center on November 7, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. The Clippers won 106-84.
The LA Clippers’ roster seems to have finally realized its path. A path which began when Blake Griffin was drafted, and little by little the Clippers surrounded him with perfect pieces around to win a championship. The question is, how good can the Clippers be this year now that their roster seems fully assembled?
Everyone points to the LA Lakers as a team straight out of a video game. That’s to make the point that the Lakers are so unreasonably stacked that its something straight out of a video game. Anyone who has played Dynasty/Franchise mode in NBA 2K or NBA Live will click their tongue at that. See in NBA video games when we start off a new franchise there are three options:
- play with existing roster or customize the roster beforehand.
- pick a team with a fantasy draft where each team gets to pick a player in turn.
- pick a team with a ladder fantasy draft, where if in first round you go first, you’ll pick last in the second and first in the third and so on.
If the Lakers were assembled through a fantasy draft, there’s no way they would have Kobe and Howard on the same team. Kobe and Gasol possibly. Or Kobe and Nash. Since Kobe, Gasol, Howard and Nash are all among the top 30 players in the NBA, only two of them could be on the Lakers squad.
The Lakers’ neighbours, LA Clippers on the other hand feature a squad which can be built in a NBA fantasy simulation. And the logic behind the team seems like its been made through one too. Draft Chris Paul first and possibly trade their second fantasy pick for Blake Griffin. All the other pieces on the Clippers roster look like something a video game player would pick too. Those two are no brainers. A 90+ overall point guard and the centerpiece for the future who complements the guard perfectly.
After locking down a top ten player and a future top ten player in Paul and Griffin, the video game GM moves on to covering the weakness of his two man star squad. There’s a premium playmaker locked up. And a big man for the future with defensive deficiencies. Your offense is pretty set. Now you look to cover the paint on defense.
A young center who can jump through the roof in DeAndre Jordan. Not too strong on offense, can’t shoot freethrows to save his life. But he can throw it down on every possession from within 7 feet of the rim. Not rated very high, but has great development potential. A perfect defensive stalwart to pair up with Blake Griffin. DeAndre Jordan had one of his best all round games going up against the Trailblazers a few days ago, Blake Griffin was having a quiet night. His fellow Wright brother in flight DeAndre came out swinging in. Inexplicably he was backing down the Blazers and dropping in hook shots with aplomb. A far cry from last season when his sole offensive move consisted of him throwing down slam dunks. The bigger shocker than the sky hooks, if that were possible, was him going 5 of 7 from the free throw line. Jordan finished two points shy of his career high by scoring 21 points and 8 rebounds, while Griffin was held to 7.
Cue in the part about the young center realizing his potential.
LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 07: Blake Griffin #32 of the Los Angeles Clippers fights for position against Stephen Jackson #3 of the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center on November 7, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. The Clippers won 106-84.
With the interior locked up, look for a guard who can light it up at anytime. One of the most prolific scorers in the league, a sharpshooting sixth man who leads the league in 4 point plays in Jamaal Crawford. Add a backup point guard who has immense athleticism and potential in Eric Bledsoe. The Clippers actually drew the line at parting with Bledsoe in the trade to get Paul. They reluctantly gave up Aminu but would not part with Bledsoe. That should indicate how much the Clippers value this young point guard. And his long range jumper with that out of the roof vertical make for a solid foundation moving forward. Being under the tutelage of Paul and Billups is an enviable situation for a budding point guard.
Add to that a solid small forward who is so solid he’s known as Tough Juice, Caron Butler. Three wing players who can play both ends of the court well and feature diverse skill sets in Grant Hill, Matt Barnes and Lamar Odom. And surround this potent mix with reliable second string role players. Oh and Chauncey Billups will be coming back soon as he is healed.
Now that’s a team straight out of a video game. Is Donald Sterling really that good underneath his racist and bumbling exterior to assemble such a roster? Maybe he stumbled into an NBA 2K Franchise mode and went wild. Another plausible theory is that he is simply copying the Lakers’ model. In the plainest terms. Check out the history of some of the Clippers:
Matt Barnes- former Laker
Lamar Odom- former Laker
Ronny Turiaf- former Laker
Caron Butler- former Laker
Chris Paul- almost a Laker. Was traded before the trade was overruled.
Not a bad strategy, that is. Keep poaching the players from the team across the yard. Regardless of how this roster was put together, its clear that the Clippers are one of the most exciting team in the league and capable of hanging with the best teams all around. A Conference Semifinals is the minimum distance to which this team should be able to go this year.