Los Angeles Clippers: Are Bench Woes Fixed?

When the offseason began, the Los Angeles Clippers had two main objectives: retain DeAndre Jordan and patch up their lackluster bench unit. To solve the latter, Doc Rivers made some moves and brought in quite a few new faces to address the glaring issues with depth that plagued the Clippers last season. But are they any better off?

Before deciding if the bench is better, we must first assess last year’s bench production. No team relied on their starters more than the Clippers did last season. Their starting lineup consisting of Chris Paul, J.J. Redick, Matt Barnes, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan was the league’s best five-man unit — and it wasn’t even close.

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No unit in the NBA played as many minutes together as that lineup, good for 20 minutes per game over the 60 games that all five were healthy. The next closest lineup that played as much together was the Hawks’ starting lineup, which played just over 300 less minutes together via NBA.com. In those times they played together, the Clippers’ starters outscored opponents by a league-leading 7.5 points per game.

The Clippers’ starting unit finished the season second in +/- behind only the Golden State Warriors, who won the NBA title and finished with the most wins in the league. The big difference between the Clippers and Warriors last season was depth. The Warriors’ bench outscored opponents by 1.3 points per game while the Clippers bench was outscored by 0.9 points per game.

There are obviously other differences between the two teams (the Warriors were much better defensively), but on paper, depth is one of the few things that separated the Clippers from a historically great team.

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What do these numbers mean for the bench? It simply means that the backups have a lot of room to work with. If the starters are beating opponents by 7.5 points per game in 20 minutes of action, they can afford to trade baskets and still win handily. Basically, if the bench doesn’t get killed, the Clippers should win.

The Clippers’ bench was abysmal by any standard last season. Even with one of the league’s best sixth men in Jamal Crawford, the bench struggled to maintain leads that the starters had built. Spencer Hawes signed for the full mid-level exception and then proceeded to have the worst season of his career. Jordan Farmar was brought in to replace Darren Collison as backup point guard but played so poorly that the team waived him in mid-January.

After Farmar’s release, the Clippers tried a few backup point guards who failed to catch on, including Nate Robinson and Lester Hudson, but neither proved to be the answer. Austin Rivers filled that role best after he was traded for and even he had more bad moments than good ones. Hedo Turkoglu appeared out of shape and couldn’t stay in front of anyone. Glen Davis was the only bench player other than Crawford and Austin Rivers who earned the trust of Doc Rivers in the playoffs.

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After a playoff run where many bench players fell completely out of rotation, Rivers recognized the problem and did his best to address it. Working with no cap space and no draft pick going into the draft, Rivers acquired Paul Pierce, Josh Smith, Lance Stephenson, Wesley Johnson, Cole Aldrich, Pablo Prigioni and Branden Dawson while only giving up one player who was significant to them in the postseason (Matt Barnes).

With Pierce likely filling in for Barnes as the starting small forward, the bench unit now looks like a lineup of Austin Rivers, Crawford, Stephenson, Smith and Aldrich. Prigioni and Dawson are likely left out of any meaningful minutes while the team is healthy, although it shouldn’t surprise anyone if they compete for minutes right away.

The addition of Josh Smith is the biggest addition to the Clippers’ bench unit. After being cut by the Pistons despite still having two years and $30 million remaining on his contract, Smith proved to be a crucial player in the Houston Rockets’ postseason run to the Western Conference Finals. Smith averaged 12.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 25.5 minutes per game during his 55 games with the Rockets.

Smith’s 2014-15 campaign showed that if you’re counting on Josh Smith to be one of your main guys, you’re in serious trouble, but you’re in good shape if he’s coming off of your bench.

Smoove is known as a ball-stopper but showed he’s one of the league’s best passing bigs in the playoffs by constantly throwing lobs to Dwight Howard. In times that Smith and DeAndre Jordan share the court, it’s not hard to imagine Jordan replacing Howard as the recipient of Smith’s lobs like this one.

While Glen Davis wasn’t terrible, Josh Smith is a tremendous replacement for him. Smith would be a starter on most teams in the league and his versatility gives the Clippers some lineup flexibility they didn’t have last season. For comparison on how Smith should be used, try and remember Lamar Odom‘s role for the Lakers during their last two championship seasons.

Odom wasn’t a great three-point shooter, but could step out and shoot it if left alone and had rare ball skills for a player who could play both forward positions and even a little center in smaller lineups. Check out the comparison between 2008-09 Lamar Odom and 2014-15 Josh Smith:

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/24/2015.

The next biggest move the Clippers made was trading for Lance Stephenson, who Rivers said will be used in a “utility role.” The utility role designation might be perfect for Stephenson, who struggled in his lone season with the Charlotte Hornets.

Stephenson appeared to be on pace to becoming one of the league’s latest cautionary tales as a much-hyped preps legend who let the fame at a young age get to his head and impede his progress. Stephenson found himself on the covers of Slam and Dime Magazine before being old enough to vote. Nicknamed Born Ready, Stephenson fell to the second round of the 2010 NBA Draft and played in only 54 games in his first two seasons.

Stephenson broke out in 2013-2014, finishing as the Pacers’ third-leading scorer while also leading the team in rebounds and assists per game. At only 23 years old, Stephenson appeared to be back on track to the stardom he was supposed to reach as a preps phenom.

All of that went downhill in a disastrous season in Charlotte after leaving Indiana via free agency. Stephenson had to play off-the-ball more next to Kemba Walker and struggled in that capacity. Stephenson also had one of the worst shooting seasons ever. Next to fellow non-shooters Kemba Walker and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Stephenson’s percentage from deep fell from a respectable 35.2 percent to 17.1 percent. Stephenson made a paltry 18 out of 105 three-point attempts, which might just be the worst shooting season ever when figuring in volume of shots.

Stephenson will look to rebound yet again in a lesser role with the Clippers. He should be more efficient this season due to more talent being around him. Just ask Lance himself, as Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report did:

"“It’s just I couldn’t find a way where I could be on the floor and find my role and dominate that role like I did with the Pacers. I feel like the squad I’m on right now, I can find an easy role. [Defenses are] going to be on Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan, and I can find easier shots.”"

Stephenson also should benefit from a change of style. In Charlotte, the Hornets ran one of the league’s slowest paced offenses under Steve Clifford. In Los Angeles, Stephenson will get the chance to make things happen in transition, where he’s at his best. If nothing else, the Clippers gave up Barnes and Hawes to acquire Stephenson. Stephenson has a team option for next season so if he doesn’t work out for the team, he could be a nice trade asset as an expiring contract.

Wesley Johnson is as about as average as it gets for a bench player. Johnson has failed to justify being picked fourth overall in 2010 (ahead of DeMarcus Cousins, yikes), but has proven he’s worthy of a spot on an NBA roster during his last two seasons with the Lakers. Johnson was billed as a 3-and-D wing but he’s failed to be anything more than average three-point shooter who has been average at best defensively. Johnson could benefit in a lesser role as he’s just not a starting player in this league. He can play either wing position, which could be valuable when it comes to giving Paul Pierce a rest at small forward.

Perhaps most importantly, Jamal Crawford is back. Crawford’s been mentioned in trade rumors over the past couple years and those rumors intensified with the addition of Stephenson and re-signing of Austin Rivers. If Crawford remains a Clipper, he’s made his mark in league history as one of the best to ever fill the role of sixth man. He’s one of the best at creating his own shot and making difficult shots. His shooting percentages may not look so good, but he’s been forced to carry a lackluster bench unit since joining the team in 2012.

Crawford’s ability to create offense is a skill that shouldn’t be devalued due to shooting percentages that aren’t so great. Without Crawford’s 15.8 points per game off the bench last season, the Clippers’ bench units would’ve fallen from one of the worst in the league to one of the worst in league history. Back in that role surrounded by more talent, Crawford should be in the mix for his third Sixth Man of the Year award.

The rest of the bench is pretty solid, but unspectacular. The rest of the veterans who will compete for minutes have all proven themselves as NBA players. Cole Aldrich is a serviceable backup center and Branden Dawson is a player that I believe in strongly. He’s undersized for a big man but has the strength, athleticism and intangibles to cover up for his shortcomings. Although the frontcourt looks a little crowded, don’t be surprised if Dawson finds himself earning minutes right away. With his hustle and win-at-all-costs mentality, he could be an upgrade over Glen Davis as a big man who provides energy and just makes winning plays.

The most recent acquisition is backup point guard Pablo Prigioni. Prigioni has made a name for himself in the league by being a crafty pest. Prigioni will most likely be the team’s emergency point guard who won’t play much but is capable of making an impact on a game if his number is called.

Doc Rivers has been criticized for his personnel moves ever since he joined the Clippers’ front office. After this offseason, that criticism should disappear. Armed with nothing more than the mid-level exception going into free agency, Rivers found a way to improve his starting lineup and the bench.

It will have to been seen if Rivers, Crawford, Stephenson, and Smith can share the ball and be an effective group while keeping everybody happy, but this Clippers team is much deeper than in recent years. The talent is there and that’s more than you could’ve said about last year’s group. We’ll have to see how it all comes together, but on paper Doc Rivers has fixed the bench woes that led to the team’s demise last season.

Next: Los Angeles Clippers: Grading The Offseason

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