Los Angeles Clippers: Small Forward Problems Overblown?
By Marcus Bass
The Los Angeles Clippers didn’t secure veteran small-forward Matt Barnes for his shooting. That’s not to suggest they should ignore his preseason-nasty six buckets in 44 attempts, and one trey ball in 24 attempts. While it is often said “it’s only preseason,” after a long summer of waiting for Clippers basketball, the product on the floor was less than stellar, especially at the 3.
Examining the issue for the Clippers at the small forward position begs the question: What exactly do they need from that position? It would be nice if the Clippers had no limitations 1-5. If their center could step out and shoot from the perimeter like their point guard, if their small guard possessed similar athleticism as their power forward, and if their small forward could shoot like their small guard.
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Now we’ve transitioned from discussing what’s factual inside Staples Center to talking hoops utopia, and that’s not realistic.
Clippers center DeAndre Jordan should relate to the team’s current conundrum at small forward position, and head coach Doc Rivers needs to elect the same train of though when it comes to Barnes, Reggie Bullock, Chris Douglas-Roberts or whomever else is poised to take minutes at that position in the future. Jordan became a defensive juggernaut for the Clippers in Rivers’ first season as coach.
Rivers knew what Vinny Del-Negro didn’t. Jordan is not an offensive big man — at all. Once Rivers empowered Jordan to be their cornerstone on the defensive end of the floor the Clippers flourished, and while he’s not backing down defenders in the post, hitting jump hooks and other flashy offensive ensembles that light up the stat column, Jordan’s defense was detrimental to the Clippers getting out on the break and killing teams in transition.
Last season with Barnes on the court, the Clippers averaged an offensive rating of 116.1 versus their 109.1 percentage with him riding the pine. In essence, the Clippers averaged seven more points per 100 possessions with Barnes on the floor; within the starting unit the only player to have a higher affect on the Clippers offensive rating was Jordan.
The Clippers averaged 114.4 points with him on the court, versus 106.4 with him off of it (an eight-point difference).
So what does that mean? Certainly team captains Blake Griffin and Chris Paul are better offensive players. The difference in point production and the variation of scoring related to Barnes and Jordan being on or off the floor means the intangibles on offense are still important, and defense is an even bigger issue.
Therein lies the Clippers biggest problem at the small forward position. It trumps the issue of talent, and the solution requires the expansion of what’s currently a tunnel vision outlook at the small forward spot. There’s gold there and either the Clippers have yet to realize it, or have stowed it away for a surprise at a later date.
Matt Barnes and Chris Douglas-Roberts aren’t defensive superstars, but played in tandem with dedication to being a one of the league’s best defensive units, the Clippers can apply some serious pressure on the opposition.
Both Barnes and Douglas-Roberts have long arms, quick feet and are able to get their hands on balls and hands into passing lanes. Defensive play like that leads to transition buckets, and in the words of Shaquille O’Neal — barbecue chicken.