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Los Angeles Clippers Complete Overhaul By Signing Jordan Hamilton

By Brenton Lillie

Mar 2, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Jordan Hamilton (1) drives to the basket around Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins (22) in the first quarter at Target Center. The Los Angeles Clippers win 110-105. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 2, 2015; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Jordan Hamilton (1) drives to the basket around Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins (22) in the first quarter at Target Center. The Los Angeles Clippers win 110-105. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Los Angeles Clippers have signed forward Jordan Hamilton for the rest of the season, completing their bench overhaul.

Los Angeles announced on Friday that the organization has signed forward Jordan Hamilton for the rest of the season. While Hamilton is probably not going to make much of a difference, it is the completion of Doc Rivers‘ extreme makeover of his second unit.

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Hamilton is a good depth guy, more than capable of filling in as a role player when called upon. In his career he has shot 36.7 percent from behind the three point line, and better than 40 percent from the field overall. He is also an excellent rebounder for a small forward, averaging over five rebounds per 36 minutes, according to basketball-reference.com

Hamilton will join fellow fringe players Nate Robinson and Dahntay Jones on the Clippers bench. Rivers meanwhile, now has six players on the bench that he has hand-picked over the last two years. Robinson, Jones, Hamilton, Spencer Hawes, Glen Davis, and, of course, his son Austin Rivers.

The alleged chemistry issues that plagued this team early in the year have been mostly dormant over the last couple of months, and it is easy to point to the dramatic overhaul of the bench unit as the reason for the more relaxed locker room.

Los Angles has gone 10-6 since the NBA’s trade deadline on February 19th, but most of those games were played without All-Star power forward Blake Griffin. The Clippers also faced a tough schedule immediately after the break.

So 10-6 is actually somewhat impressive given the opponents and Griffin’s absence. What is more important is the swagger that defines this team is back. This team seems to truly think that they are championship contenders.

Most of the improvement has come on the defensive end, as the Clippers have gone from giving up 104.3 points per game in February to opponents only scoring 100.4 points so far in March. With he tough schedule, that is very, very good.

So while Rivers’ moves have been questioned by the media, fans, and even myself, he does seem to have more of a comfort level with his current players. He has more guys who play the way he wants his team to play.

Now, you could certainly argue that since Rivers originally signed Jordan Farmar, Chris Douglas-Roberts, and others, that Rivers is still the man at fault for anything that went on before Valentine’s Day. However, let us give Rivers the general manager at least some credit for fixing obvious mistakes. Given the egos involved in professional sports, that does not always happen.

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    • While the play on the court has definitely improved, as the Clippers have come from the pit of despair early in the season to be in the discussion for home court in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Especially given the ease of the schedule as the year winds down.

    Over the next 12 games, Los Angeles faces seven teams with no chance of making the playoffs, and two more that most likely will miss the post-season in New Orleans and Phoenix. That leaves only three really tough games: Portland, Memphis, and the Golden State Warriors.

    The chance of Los Angeles moving up and getting that coveted home court is very good, and perhaps the Clippers could even manage to squeeze into the top three, avoiding the Golden State Warriors for at least the first two rounds of the playoffs.

    A season that began with questions about the team’s teamwork and shooting has turned into another golden opportunity to make some noise in the NBA playoffs. Doc Rivers has rightfully taken plenty of criticism this season, but let us give him some credit.

    His moves, however illogical they have seemed, have worked out so far.

    Next: How far have the Clippers come?

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