Los Angeles Clippers: The Milos Teodosic effect
The Los Angeles Clippers lost their first game with Milos Teodosic in the lineup on Saturday. His presence revitalized a team in need of a primary creator.
The Los Angeles Clippers have been blistered by the injury bug all season long. Danilo Gallinari missed significant time early in the season and then re-injured himself shortly after his return. Patrick Beverley missed time with an injury, returned for a game, tore his meniscus and went under the knife. Blake Griffin sprained his left MCL and is not expected to return until January at the earliest.
Milos Teodosic has been lost in the shuffle of all of those injuries. However, the team’s play with him in the lineup shows just how impactful his injury has been this season. Without Griffin or Beverley, the Clippers had to rely on players with questionable point guard experience to run the offense. With Teodosic back in the fold, the team finally has a floor general.
The Clippers lost their first game with Milos in the lineup on Saturday after winning all four of his previous NBA games. While it may be too late for the Clippers to return to the playoff picture, their play with Milos in the fold is encouraging for their future prospects.
Commanding the floor
The Los Angeles Clippers have often looked lost this season with Blake Griffin on the sidelines. The departure of Chris Paul was bound to alter their offense, but the magnitude of that difference has been staggering. Still, the team jumped out to a strong start to the season–including double-digit wins in their first two games with Milos starting.
Teodosic has not shot well from the floor this season in an admittedly small sample size. However, his innate playmaking knowledge makes those poor shooting numbers seem more like a slump than an indication of future success. Teams fear his passing ability so much more than his shooting that they give him easy angles for relatively open looks:
Milos’ raw assist numbers (averaging only 3.8 assists per game at the moment) appear underwhelming. However, they do not reveal the full story. Teodosic’s assist to turnover ratio of 2.71 is just barely outside of the top 10 percent of the league (38th out of 371 qualifying players per NBA.com). Furthermore, it is the best mark on the Clippers by a wide margin — C.J. Williams is the only other Clipper averaging more than two assists per turnover.
Future outlook
The Los Angeles Clippers could barely score without Blake Griffin in the lineup. His injury, combined with the Beverley and Teodosic injuries, left the team brutally thin at point guard. The team was forced to run out Jawun Evans (a talented rookie in way over his head) and Lou Williams (a shoot-first shooting guard who only ever plays point guard because of his 6’1″ frame) as the primary offensive creators.
With Teodosic back in the fold, the team has a floor general at the head of their offense. It is no accident that Teodosic’s Net Rating of +7.8 points per 100 possessions is the best of any Clipper who has played 100 or more minutes this season.
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The Los Angeles Clippers will need to stay afloat until Blake Griffin returns if they have any chance of reaching the playoffs. They just might be able to do that with Milos Teodosic at the helm.