Los Angeles Clippers: 5 Reasons This Is Their Year
1. A Stifling Defense
The Los Angeles Clippers have everything you’d expect out of a championship contender: Resume-building wins, dominant blowouts, three proven stars, an improved bench, you name it.
But unlike years past, when their solid but not elite defense went under the radar, the Clippers have made their stifling defense the foundation of their 2016-17 campaign.
More from Hoops Habit
- The 5 most dominant NBA players who never won a championship
- 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
- Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
- Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
- Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
Again, 11 games is a small sample size, but the Clippers currently lead the league in Defensive Rating, holding opponents to a smothering 93.0 points per 100 possessions.
They’re holding opponents to a league-best 40.9 percent shooting from the floor, they’re leading the league in steals (10.4 per game) and they’re turning those steals into a league-best 20.5 points per game off of turnovers and 17.8 fast break points per game (third highest in the association).
Like the Clippers’ overall championship merit over the last few years, Lob City’s quality defense is not entirely new. After all, they ranked sixth in Defensive Rating last year.
However, much like the rest of the Clippers’ early season success, this feels different and sustainable. This team has always been counted out, and they’re playing with a chip on their shoulder while formulating the league’s best defense.
Next: 2016-17 NBA Power Rankings: Week 4
If all of those things continue, the Clippers will make their first conference finals, they could be a legitimate threat to unseat the Warriors or Spurs in the West, and they very well could be the favorites to win the 2016-17 NBA championship.