LA Clippers: Can Lou Williams be valuable in the playoffs?

If the LA Clippers and Lakers are destined for a playoff matchup, the value of Lou Williams might not reach they levels many expect from him.

Lou Williams has been a staple of LA Clippers basketball since arriving in the summer of 2017. A two-time Sixth Man of the Year with the team, he was crucial to their unexpected success last season and figures to be a vital piece in their championship hopes down in the bubble upon release from quarantine.

The Clippers, statistically speaking, are also better with him on the bench. Their offensive rating jumps 2.6 points and that of the opponents dips 3.8. Numbers are never the entire story, but on-off splits like these can’t be ignored, raising the concern of not what Williams brings to the table, but if any of it matters for LA’s title hopes.

More from Hoops Habit

• 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
• NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers

For a team that barely cracked triple digits in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers and shot 14-of-41 outside their dynamic duo, Williams’ 18.7 points per game could’ve changed the Clippers’ fate on re-opening night.

It was a fact many were quick to point out and why many hardly chalked the win as a convincing one for the Lakers, despite the woes they overcame. Had Williams played, the logic goes, the Clippers take the season series 3-1.

We saw what Sweet Lou’s presence met in the previous battle for Los Angeles. Just seven points on 3-of-11 shooting aside, he was mercilessly attacked by LeBron James in the fourth quarter. A plus-minus of zero in the frame, he was forced into switches that compromised an otherwise stout defense, playing a role in the 112-103 defeat.

With Williams on the court, LA willingly paints a giant target on its back, an opening for teams to exploit they wouldn’t otherwise have given the better defensive options the Clippers could use. LeBron took advantage once. Who’s to say he or the likes of James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Luka Doncic and Chris Paul won’t do the same in a potential playoff series?

Making up for those woes means providing enough at the other end, the stuff Williams has built his reputation on.

He’s a possession saver, the guy you give the ball to at the end of the shot clock and feel confident about his ability to salvage a broken play. There’s value to that skill. No wonder Williams is finishing his 14th season. Being a scorer, however, doesn’t make you a valuable one, especially for a diminutive guard who stands just 6’1”.

His scoring average is achieved by shooting 41.5 percent from the field, not exactly a staple of efficiency even on what is perhaps the best team he’s ever played on.

A lack of size makes running the offense through him difficult despite scoring numbers that would suggest otherwise. Only three players averaging at least 18.0 points per game this season do so in fewer minutes than Williams’ 29.1.

And yet, Williams has played over 1,500 possessions without both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George this season. Per Cleaning The Glass, those lineups generate only 110.1 points per 100 possessions, ranking in the 42nd percentile.

The Clippers can play him alongside Kawhi, PG and Patrick Beverley. It won’t stop opposing offenses from singling out the one player they know they can. Those same teams will be more than happy to watch Williams take shots from LA’s feared twosome or try to lead LA with them on the bench.

He is a talented basketball player, but his penchant for buckets don’t make up for their inefficient production methods or the points he gives up on the other end. On a championship-contending team with a small margin for error, giving him minutes regardless might prove costly. More than what Clippers would hope from a player they’ve come to put so much into.