The Los Angeles Clippers had not looked right all season long, but were still getting plenty of wins and averaged the third-best point differential in the league. Going by the stats, they were one of the best teams in the West, but there were little flaws that often left a sour taste even after wins. They were inconsistent, going from games in which they looked downright dominant to sleepwalking for quarters at a time. What Los Angeles lacked in discipline it made up with talent, and that was enough to keep accumulating victories. Until recently.
The Clippers’ defensive problems got exposed by the Raptors
The Clippers have been mediocre on defense all season and now it’s catching up to them.
Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
The Clippers are on a three-game losing streak and have lost four out of the last five. On Friday they were up 20 points against the Toronto Raptors, only to collapse and lose by 16 after allowing 38 points in the second and third quarters. The Raptors deserve full credit for the blowout as they didn't panic after finding themselves down big early, but the game is a microcosm of the Clippers' biggest problem: inconsistent effort results in lazy execution, particularly on defense.
When the Clippers are clicking they are unstoppable on offense. They boast the league's highest offensive rating and have two of the best offensive players in the league in Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. They make the game look easy. On the other hand, they have sub optimal defensive personnel, which means they need to be focused. That's not always the case and it starts with their stars.
Lou Williams blows by Paul while Griffin provides token help defense. After the kickout, James Johnson has no problem getting to the rim, since DeAndre Jordan doesn't rotate and Matt Barnes is late. Griffin doesn't have the length to be an elite defender, but he definitely has the foot speed. Unfortunately, he often doesn't exert himself on that end. That puts a lot of pressure on Jordan to clean up every mistake, and while he is one of the best help defenders in the league, he can't plug every hole that springs from the lazy play of teammates.
The way they defend the pick and roll can also exacerbate their natural limitations at times. They hedge in an attempt to control the ball handler, which means the bigs venture far from the paint on high pick and rolls. When Jordan is the one involved, the Clippers really suffer. Griffin is tasked with covering two men: his assignment and the dive man. He just doesn’t have the awareness for the job.
The Clippers allow the fifth-highest mark in the league to the roll man, according to Synergy Sports, and it’s easy to see why. Either cutter could have scored on that play.
Over-helping and bad closeouts are also common in the perimeter. Since they lack length whenever Barnes is not on the court, teams take advantage of mismatches and either score or have the whole defense trying to help:
Four players are not needed to contain a James Johnson post up. This play resulted in an open three-pointer.
Here’s the shot chart from the game:
It’s a magnified version of how the Clippers have performed on that end all year long. A bad perimeter defense (top five in three-pointers allowed) and bad interior defense (top five in field goal percentage allowed within five feet of the basket) are too much for any team to survive for long without consequences to its record. When they are playing against bad teams the Clippers can hide their deficiencies, but against good teams that becomes a challenge -- they are 11-13 against teams above .500.
So are the Clippers a paper tiger, a team that has no shot at a championship? Not quite. Their one win in the past five games came against the San Antonio Spurs and it was a thrashing. When they are clicking on offense, that energy infects their defense and effort helps them mask a lot of inadequacies. They do have quality victories against most of the West's playoffs teams, which suggests that their talent level is on par with anyone's. Consistency is a huge problem for the Clippers but they have gotten up for big games.
It's also important to provide context for their current struggles. They are in the middle of an eight-game road trip and as a team that lacks depth, they could be wearing down. The All-Star break could provide the respite they need. Things will probably get worse before they get better -- their next two opponents are the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks on the road, where they have won just 13 of 24. After that they will have a four-game homestead in the Staples Center, where they are 20-7.
The Clippers are probably not as great as some of their early season numbers suggested, nor as bad as they have looked of late. The defensive problems are real and are not going away unless they make a move, but with a little more effort and focus they have been able to survive them in the past. Whether they buy in on that end will determine their ceiling.
★★★
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