Los Angeles Clippers: No Chris Paul, No Offense

Since Chris Paul came to the Los Angeles Clippers, they’ve had one of the league’s deadliest offenses. Without him, things get ugly.

The Los Angeles Clippers went against the red-hot Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night without Chris Paul, and boy did they miss him.

It’s not a groundbreaking observation that the Clippers aren’t as good without one of the 10 best players in the NBA and the best point guard from planet Earth (Stephen Curry is not from our planet. Show me the birth certificate!).

However, it was startling just how different the offense looked without Paul and equally alarming how poor the results were. It certainly didn’t help the Clippers that J.J. Redick left the game after only 18 seconds due to a sprained right ankle and did not return.

In the 103-91 loss, the Clippers shot just 38 percent from the field and only 22.2 percent on the team’s 27 three-point attempts, despite Lance Stephenson playing his best game of the young season against the team he enjoyed his most success with. Without Paul and Redick, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan both suffered their worst game of the season, combining to go 6-of-22 on field goal attempts and 9-of-22 on free throws.

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The drop-off from Chris Paul to Austin Rivers as point guard is as big as any drop-off from starter to backup in the league, and their contrasting playing styles don’t make things any easier for the Clippers when Paul has to miss time. Positions have changed over the years and it can be foolish sometimes to throw players into the boxes that positions often imply.

Even with that in mind, Chris Paul is the classic point guard who distributes first and looks for his shot second, but is fully capable of doing both and taking whatever the defense gives him. Paul’s ability to find the open man and create scoring opportunities for everyone on his team are a key reason why teams led by Paul have been at the top of the league in offensive efficiency since Paul entered the league in 2005.

Rivers is not that type of player. Rivers is the stereotypical combo guard that is a shooting guard in a point guard’s body. He received the start in Paul’s absence and played 35 minutes, yet tallied only one assist while taking 11 shots. The single assist isn’t an outlier; it’s the norm for Rivers, as he’s averaging 1.6 assists per 36 minutes this season, down from his 3.5 mark for his career.

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This isn’t to bully Rivers or to suggest nepotism like many others have when talking about Rivers, but replacing a distributor who can do it all like Paul with a one-dimensional player like Rivers makes for an impossible transition for everybody.

One of the biggest effects of Paul’s absence can be seen with DeAndre Jordan. Saying that Jordan’s offensive game is limited might be putting it kindly. According to NBA.com, 79.7 percent of Jordan’s made shots this season have been assisted. Jordan can’t create his own shot and has taken only five shots outside of five feet this season.

When he’s not in the paint, he’s an obstruction for the rest of the offense. The only time he’s a threat offensively is when running to the rim on Chris Paul pick-and-rolls or when Jordan’s man cheats too far to help on Blake Griffin in the high-low post game. Without Paul, Jordan’s offensive game is nonexistent.

This was on full display without Paul on Wednesday night. Jordan went 0-for-4 on field goal attempts and 2-for-8 on free throw attempts. If that isn’t full evidence of his hindrance on the Clippers’ offense, it stalled completely with Jordan on the floor and totaled 55 points per 100 possessions, a mark well below his 114 offensive rating on the season when the majority of his minutes are with Paul.

Another reason for Rivers’ low assist total is that the Clippers wisely chose to run the offense through Blake Griffin. Griffin is one of the league’s best passing big men, evidenced by his 4.8 assists per game this season. With Paul out, Griffin is the next best option for a player to run the offense through.

If Paul has to miss more than the “next couple (games)“, Griffin should see an opportunity to put up some stat-stuffing numbers like the ones he put up last season in the playoffs when Paul had to miss time.

However, Griffin suffered through his worst outing of the season, scoring 19 points on 6-of-18 shooting and failing to grab a rebound until the fourth quarter. The Pacers often went small against Griffin and played an extra wing in place of a traditional second big man.

Instead, the Pacers used that extra speed to send a second man at Griffin and force him into shots that weren’t the best or getting the ball out of his hands. Jordan’s inability to spread the floor while playing next to Griffin allowed Pacers’ center Ian Mahinmi to stay near the basket and keep Griffin out of the paint. Credit is due to the Pacers’ defense masterminded by Frank Vogel, but Paul’s absence shined a spotlight on the Clippers’ flaws.

The lone bright spot in the loss was the play of Lance Stephenson. I tackled why moving Stephenson to the bench was a good idea last week and checked in on the progress, but Wednesday was his best game yet. Maybe it was the matchup against his former team, but most likely Stephenson’s success was a result of an increased role and an opportunity to run the offense.

With Paul out and fellow second-unit guard Jamal Crawford playing in place of Redick, Stephenson was given free rein of the offense and the results were positive. The 8-11 shooting and 3-4 on three pointers are more than should be expected, but if Stephenson’s used correctly, we’ll see more of Good Lance like we saw on Wednesday.

One note I’d suggest for the Clippers going forward is that Stephenson be given more control. Yes, that’s a terrifying thought, but it’s what’s best for the team at the moment. As we spoke of above, Austin Rivers is not a point guard or capable of running an NBA offense right now. Stephenson is. It would be wise of Doc Rivers to hand over the second unit to Stephenson and mixing in letting Jamal Crawford do Jamal Crawford things.

Stephenson isn’t a great fit playing with Paul because Stephenson’s game is reliant on having the ball in his hands as opposed to playing off the ball. Whenever Paul is not on the floor, Stephenson should be the guard with the ball in his hands. The results may not always be great, but it’s the best option for this team and will always be exciting.

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It should also be mentioned that Redick’s absence created even more issues for the offense. Paul’s ability to get Griffin, Jordan, and Redick involved when handling the ball on pick-and-rolls is the key to the offense and Redick’s ability to spread the floor with his shooting keeps defenses honest.

On Wednesday, Griffin faced double teams frequently. If Redick is in the game, his man cannot leave Redick alone without almost surely giving up three points. Other wing players Rivers, Crawford, Stephenson, Luc Mbah a Moute, and Wesley Johnson are capable of hitting the three, but aren’t even close to being the threat that Redick is.

The result of Redick missing time in addition to Paul causes a spacing nightmare the cripples the entire team. Defenses aren’t worried about the other Clipper wings taking threes. In fact, it’s what defenses will want. The Clippers are full of streaky shooters from deep outside of Paul and Redick.

The lack of shooting threats makes life a lot harder for Blake Griffin, whom defenses can now double team without much fear that they’ll have to pay for it. The lack of shooting threats combined with DeAndre Jordan’s inability to score make the Clippers offense a nightmare that may not be solvable until Paul and/or Redick return.

Next: NBA Power Rankings: Week 6

Again, it’s not earth-shattering news that the Clippers aren’t as good without Chris Paul in the lineup, but it’s worth recognizing that the Clippers are among the league’s best offenses with him and turn into one of the league’s worst without him. Until Paul returns, expect the offense to stall.

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