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Playoff Picture: Los Angeles Clippers

By Luke Duffy

Apr 4, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) talks with teammates including guard J.J. Redick (4), forward Matt Barnes (22), and center DeAndre Jordan (6) during the first half against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 4, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) talks with teammates including guard J.J. Redick (4), forward Matt Barnes (22), and center DeAndre Jordan (6) during the first half against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 3, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; The Los Angeles Clippers bench during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Staples Center. The Los Angeles Clippers won 127-91. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 3, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; The Los Angeles Clippers bench during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Staples Center. The Los Angeles Clippers won 127-91. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports /

Why They’ll Fall Short

That bench. You might think it’s lack of productivity is overhyped, but it’s really not. The bench’s overall efficiency of 29.9 puts it above only two other teams in that category (Cavaliers and Magic). It’s bad, but when the likes of Davis and Turkoglu haven’t been relevant in nearly five years, what do you expect? Spencer Hawes has been mostly a disaster as well.

Season Tm G GS MP FG% 3P% 2P% FT% TRB AST STL BLK PTS
2013-14 PHI 53 53 31.4 .451 .399 .478 .782 8.5 3.3 0.6 1.3 13.0
2013-14 CLE 27 25 29.8 .468 .448 .479 .784 7.7 2.4 0.5 1.0 13.5
2014-15 LAC 71 15 17.6 .389 .312 .446 .625 3.6 1.2 0.3 0.7 5.8

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table

While Austin Rivers can occasionally show flashes against teams like the Lakers, all too often he disappears when his team needs him in big games. Jordan has been great for this team, he leads the league in rebounds (14.9) and it’s not even close.

He’s this team’s defensive anchor and elite rim protector. Yet even with Jordan, the Clippers have the fifteenth best defense in the league. So if he were to go down to injury for example, this team would be torched by the likes of the Warriors (who can score and defend at an elite level) or the Rockets. Their bench also pops up here, as they’re the worst bench in the league at rebounding the ball on a nightly basis.

Matchup-wise, a team like the Memphis Grizzlies could have a field day in the paint against these guys. The Warriors pose threats for everybody as well. Griffin will also need to be the player who carried this team for stretches and appeared superhuman last season when Paul was out through injury. Sadly for this team, that guy hasn’t been back consistently since.

Next: Big Man Has Truly Broken Out

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