L.A. Clippers: Lawson, Miller Among Point Guard Options

Chris Paul is playing heavy minutes and getting banged up. The lack of depth at point guard for the Los Angeles Clippers at the moment is an issue that needs to be addressed.

The load for Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul is a heavy one. Since Blake Griffin went down on Christmas night, it could be argued that no team has relied as much on a single player than the Clippers have relied on Paul.

That heavy load turned into an even heavier one when backup point guard Austin Rivers was sidelined with a broken hand in early February and Lance Stephenson was traded at the deadline for forward Jeff Green.

The Clippers came into the season with a problem of not having enough minutes or usage for their barrage of guards and now find themselves not having enough.

On Wednesday night during an 87-81 loss to the Denver Nuggets, that lack of depth was starting to become evident as Chris Paul suffered through minor injuries to his calf and forearm. Paul still finished the game and played 35 minutes in defeat, but his injuries were apparent. Paul didn’t look nearly as fast or quick on the court against the Nuggets and was seen favoring his right forearm throughout the game after taking a hit to that area from the elbow of Danilo Gallinari.

The heart of Clippers fans paused every time that Paul appeared to be in pain because they know that the Clippers are one injury to Paul away from being in position to free-fall down the standings.

Without Griffin to run the offense through, the Clippers have relied on Paul almost exclusively to run the offense. If Paul were to go down, the best two players would be DeAndre Jordan and J.J. Redick, two players who rely on others to set up their offense.

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The only healthy point guard on the team outside of Paul is 38-year-old Pablo Prigioni. Prigioni has been very good in his limited role as a professional pest and a steadying hand to the Clippers’ bench. However, it seems that Prigioni’s best served as a backup point guard who plays 10-15 minutes per night.

Prigioni isn’t a threat to score at all and averages only 5.8 points per 36 minutes and is shooting only 38.5 percent from the field and 29.4 percent on three pointers. Prigioni’s very aware of his scoring weakness and serves to set up his teammates and run the offense, something that Austin Rivers struggled to do. Prigioni is a great third point guard to have on your roster, but isn’t a great option as a primary backup.

Doc Rivers has recognized this and has opted to play Chris Paul more than he’d like to play him. Paul is averaging 36.4 minutes per game since Austin Rivers was sidelined. The biggest example of Paul’s increase in minutes was displayed before the All-Star break in a 139-134 loss to the Boston Celtics, when Paul played 48 out of a possible 53 minutes, including every minute after halftime.

If the Clippers are to have a chance in the postseason, they’ll need the very best version of Paul. Playing Paul such heavy minutes isn’t ideal, but it’s the only option the Clippers have at the moment with their current roster.

The Clippers failed to make a move that brought in another option at the point guard position at the trade deadline and have given 10-day contracts to big men Jeff Ayres and Alex Stepheson.

How can the Clippers help Paul out past the trade deadline?

If the Clippers are to address their issues with point guard depth, it will have to be through signing free agents. Buyout season is in full effect, but not many point guards have been available until now. Andre Miller was bought out by the Timberwolves on Friday and the Rockets were in negotiations to buyout Ty Lawson, making two options for the Clippers to explore adding.

Feb 4, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Houston Rockets guard Ty Lawson (3) dribbles the ball up the court against the Phoenix Suns at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Rockets won 111 – 105. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports /

Andre Miller could be a great addition if the Clippers want to add a veteran presence to help stop the bleeding until Rivers returns from injury. Miller will turn 40 in March and has over 40,000 minutes on his body. Miller could form an old man tag-team with Prigioni to eat up minutes until Rivers returns. Miller wanted to be bought out from his contract to join a contender and a return to the Clippers could be a great chance for him if the Warriors and Spurs don’t come calling.

Lawson is a bit of a wild card and is a player that the Clippers would likely stay away from, but his talent could make him worth the risk. Doc Rivers has been burnt by his last two talented yet risky additions of Lance Stephenson and Josh Smith. Lawson has been toxic for the Rockets this season, but is still only one season removed from averaging 15.2 points and 9.6 assists per game for the Denver Nuggets.

The Clippers could continue to wait during buyout season and hope that Miller and Lawson are just the beginning of point guards being bought out, but the Clippers would be wise to make the addition soon with Rivers still out for another 2-4 weeks if his original return date remains the same.

The most likely option would be for the Clippers to start assigning 10-day contracts to young point guards in the D-League who could eat up more minutes and give the Clippers a chance to find a player who could remain with the team beyond this season. Sean Kilpatrick, Russ Smith, and Vander Blue are the top point guards in the NBDL according to the NBDL’s prospect watch. All three have had cups of coffee for NBA teams and could be let go of when Rivers returns.

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With the trade deadline behind them, the Clippers don’t have many options, but the options exist to make the necessary addition of a point guard to the roster.

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