Los Angeles Clippers Get Revenge In Season Opener

The Los Angeles Clippers opened the season on national television against the team that knocked them out of the 2016 NBA Playoffs. How did they hold up in their first challenge of the year?

Game 4 of the first round of the 2016 NBA Playoffs was an unfortunate turning point for the Los Angeles Clippers. Lead guard Chris Paul broke his right hand and power forward Blake Griffin reinjured his left quad. Sharpshooter J.J. Redick was already dealing with a brusied left heel, but the loss of Paul and Griffin proved to be too much. The Clippers lost the game and the remaining two.

The Clippers returned to the floor on which they were eliminated to kick off their 2016-17 NBA season, wearing the same black uniforms. This time, the result was different. The Clippers defeated the Portland Trail Blazers, 114-106.

Their top two players that fell to injury last spring were the ones to lead the charge in this road win. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin shared team highs in points (27) and touches (107).

Paul added five rebounds and five assists to his ledger. He used his playmaking skills to find open teammates – including Griffin twice.

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CP3 also zipped around in the half-court to find open shots. He diversified his scoring, getting points off of pick-and-rolls, from the line, and even on a few pull-up jumpers. Paul had an efficient evening, going 9-of-19 from the field, 3-of-8 from outside, and 6-of-7 on free throws.

Griffin had 13 rebounds and three steals to go along with his point total. He wasn’t as efficient from the field, shooting 9-of-22, but he made up for that by going 8-of-9 from the free throw line. Griffin spent the summer working on extending his shooting range. He went 1-of-3 from three in his first regular season test, so it was a so-so start to the experiment.

LA was the fifth highest-scoring bench last season, averaging 37.8 points per game. Even with some offseason shuffling, the reserves came through big for the Clippers, outscoring Portland’s bench 45-20.

Jamal Crawford continued being an all-time great sixth man by scoring 15 points. His 3-of-12 field goal shooting was evened out by him hitting all eight of his free throws.

New addition Marreese Speights also logged 15. The former Warrior went 4-of-8 from the field, 2-of-3 from three, and 5-of-7 from the line.

Perimeter defense was also a huge plus for the Clippers on Thursday. Portland went 13-of-19 from three on Tuesday against Utah. The Clippers – the fifth-best three-point defense last season – held the Trail Blazers to 4-of-18 from outside.

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While the Clips were tough on the Blazers’ outside shooting, they had they own problems as well. LA shot 8-of-29 (27.6 percent) from three.

Clippers rim protector DeAndre Jordan also had his problems. He went 2-of-7 on the night from the field. He also went 2-of-10 from the free throw line. It looks like the Hack-A-Jordan strategy will continue to be viable in the early stages of this season.

Jordan also tied up in some of the game’s more physical moments. He and Blazers center Mason Plumlee were tussling with each other all night. Both of them ended up with offsetting technical fouls.

Jordan was also on the receiving end of a flagrant foul by C.J. McCollum in the fourth quarter. After hitting the deck, he popped back up and went directly to the line. He missed both of those attempts.

This season-opening win was a return to form for the Los Angeles Clippers. They seek to contend for a title for probably one of the last times before this core’s contending window closes.

Next: 2016-17 NBA Power Rankings: Week 1

LA wanted to prove that the end of last season was simply a series of unfortunate events. They were successful in doing so last night. Their next game is their home opener, a Sunday matinee against the Utah Jazz.