Los Angeles Clippers: How a team with no All-Stars is tied for 1st in the West

Doc Rivers using effective lineups

A team can have all the talent and depth in the world and still fail to succeed if the coach doesn’t utilize the right players in the right lineups. This team is incredibly deep and talented, and Doc Rivers has done an excellent job of running various situation-based rotations.

Despite the fact that Williams and Harrell are some of the best scorers on the team and that Gilgeous-Alexander is expected to be a future cornerstone, they all come off the bench more often than not.

Rivers understands that Williams has historically performed well with the sixth man role considering his lack of defensive abilities and tendency to heat up in the second half more often than not. Furthermore, Harrell is only 6’8″ but plays like a center, so he’s more suited for a bench role as a small-ball big.

Gilgeous-Alexander has played well with both the starters and the reserves, so his length and crafty scoring ability are better suited off the bench where he can make plays alongside an offensive-minded Williams instead of a defensive-minded and already solid playmaker in Beverley.

At the end of games, Rivers is going to go with a lineup that fits best with the opposition and he’s got the pieces to do so. There are multiple reserves on this team that are capable of playing starter-level basketball, but often retain that role based on matchups or lineup purposes.

Marjanovic has performed well when the matchups are right, but he’s a consistent liability outside of the paint defensively, so he rarely starts. Gortat has underwhelmed for virtually the entire season, but usually gets the start because of experience, unselfishness and matchup purposes.

It’s always important to remember that the players that start games don’t always finish them. You will almost always see Harrell and Williams playing in the clutch because they perform more often than not.

There’s a good mix of both young and established talent on this team and the current rotation — although it has changed pretty successfully a couple of times due to injury — positively reflects that.