Los Angeles Clippers: Biggest strengths and weaknesses for 2017-18

Weakness No. 2: Backup bigs

Injuries to Blake Griffin or Danilo Gallinari would cripple the Los Angeles Clippers regardless of who was on the bench. However, the team’s distinct lack of backup big men really hurt them in the playoffs after Griffin’s injury. Unfortunately, the team was not able to do much to correct that situation.

Montrezl Harrell, another piece in the Chris Paul trade, will at least help in that regard. He is a rim-running menace on offense with the potential to be a pick-and-roll destroyer on defense. However, he is only 6’8″ with a skill-set that fits better at center than it does at power forward.

The team also acquired Willie Reed in a steal of a contract that will re-inforce their bench defense. That being said, Reed is a minimum contract player for a reason. Even though he is worth three times that much money, he still tops out as a mid-rotation player. Furthermore, he is still a little undersized for a center at 6’10” despite enough athleticism to make up for it.

If Griffin or Gallinari do end up missing a lot of time, Sam Dekker may be the only player who could reasonably fill in at power forward.