Be afraid of the Clippers, who are dominating early on. We think the bubble will soon burst on their crosstown rivals, though
The Clippers became the first team to 10 wins this week, getting there in 11 tries on the back of a seven-game winning streak. This is unfamiliar territory for the Clips. Their best start in the Chris Paul era was 8-3 back in 2012-13. L.A. has been very good for five years, but that hasn’t usually translated in the Clippers storming the gates. They usually make up ground on the back end of the season.
The formula isn’t all that unfamiliar, though. The Clippers have an excellent offense led by CP3, Blake Griffin, and J.J. Redick, along with a strong defense anchored by DeAndre Jordan and Paul. After Tuesday’s games, the Clippers rank No. 5 in the league in offense and No. 1 in defense, per NBA.com/stats.
This isn’t a fluke. L.A. was No. 6 and No. 5 in those categories respectively last season despite Griffin’s long injury absence. The Clippers are a proven commodity and they are performing better than ever.
There are no schedule tricks here either. Their 10 wins include two over the Blazers and one each over the Thunder (the only team to beat L.A.), Spurs, Grizzlies, Jazz, and Pistons. They’ve beaten guard-heavy high-scoring teams, big-focused pounder teams, defensive juggernauts — everyone. The schedule will get harder — the Clippers visit Cleveland in two weeks, and still have four dates with Golden State to look forward to — but it isn’t as if L.A. has feasted on fluff. (This is unlike the Warriors, who are 8-2 against a very soft schedule.)
Kevin O’Connor at The Ringer cited L.A.’s bench as a big factor in the Clippers’ early success. The bench has indeed been fairly good, which is a major change for this franchise. Wesley Johnson and Austin Rivers have defended like hell for a five-man unit that relies on Raymond Felton to conduct and Jamal Crawford and Marreese Speights to cook. But O’Connor overstates the importance of the bench.
Per NBA.com, the Clippers are a league-best +183 in scoring margin through 11 games. (Better than the Warriors at this point last season? Yep.) The Clippers’ excellent starting lineup is +144 in 244 minutes, accounting for almost 80 percent of L.A.’s gross scoring margin in about 40 percent of L.A.’s court time.
That all-bench lineup is +33 in 92 minutes, accounting for 18 percent of L.A.’s gross scoring margin in 18 percent of its minutes. When Doc subs Rivers or Crawford in for Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and leaves the other starters in place, those lineups are +35 in 38 minutes. This team’s success is still all about those top four players.
The Clippers used to be a team whose starters could beat anyone in the league and whose bench could give up any lead imaginable. The starters are playing better than ever, and the bench has improved from catastrophic to decent. That’s enough. The Clippers are going to be a problem for the Western Conference.
REALITY INDEX: Let’s go old-school SAT on this. Clippers : _______ :: Chris Paul’s flails after getting breathed on by an opponent : fake.
Lil’ Showtime
What about the upstart crosstown rivals to the juggernaut Clippers? Lil’ Showtime is 7-4 and the team’s hardcore fans are whispering about upcoming schedules and ... the playoffs. The playoffs! This is a team that has averaged a 22-60 record over the past three seasons and whose biggest free agent additions were a 57-year-old Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov. The playoffs!
It breaks my fragile heart into pieces to disabuse sweet Lakers fans of hope, but a man must do his duty. This is not happening. The Lakers have a mediocre defense (as expected) and a top-10 offense. The offense is unsustainable unless D’Angelo Russell hits the Second Year Deron Williams Gear or Jordan Clarkson becomes an All-Star caliber two-guard off the bench. Nick Young is not going to keep hitting almost 70 percent of his long twos. Lou Williams is unlikely to keep hitting 40 percent of his threes given that a) he’s a career 34 percent shooter and b) he’s creating about half of his makes off the dribble.
The Lakers are No. 4 in the NBA in effective field goal percentage. They were dead last in this category a year ago. Losing Kobe Bryant is a huge buoy, and Luke Walton is a clear upgrade over Byron Scott in terms of building a modern offense. The kids are a year older. But all of that together with largely the same roster does not equate “from dead last to elite in one summer.” It’s just not precedented.
Back in the early Durant-Westbrook-Harden era, it took the Thunder three years to get from No. 30 to top five in shooting efficiency. They didn’t have a Kobe-esque anchor at the start weighing them down, but if that collection of talent needed that much time to break through, it speaks to how tough the climb is for a young team.
In fact, this is ending now. The Lakers’ next six games are against the Spurs, Bulls, Thunder, Warriors twice, and Hawks. It’s been fun, Lil’ Showtime. The future is bright, but it is just that: the future.
REALITY INDEX: Cinderella is doin’ donuts in her carriage in the castle parking garage at 11:57 p.m.
PHIL JACKSON’S SELF-AWARENESS
Here’s an irony. Phil Jackson, the proclaimed Zen Master himself, is potentially incapable of introspection and self-awareness on certain topics. Jackson stuck his hand in a bear trap just for the rush, and ended up getting snared by the most powerful athlete in the world.
In case you missed it, Jackson sat down with ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan and somehow found himself criticizing LeBron’s behavior with the Heat. He called the people around LeBron — his successful business manager, his successful agent — a “posse,” which has certain connotations. A woke GM would stay far away from that word or those similar to it. Jackson is either not woke, or he is oblivious or too old to care. LeBron’s business manager Maverick Carter took public exception to the matter, and LeBron followed suit.
The debate over the word is one thing. I’m liable to offer Jackson the benefit of the doubt as he is actually from the Old West. But to even get yourself into a position where you might fire a completely unnecessary shot across LeBron’s bow? We all know Jackie Mac is a wizard of the highest order, but smarten up, Phil. Try to realize how things sound before they sprint out of your mouth. Isn’t self-awareness supposed to be your whole thing?
REALITY INDEX: About as real as the Knicks’ superteam status.
