Clippers Griffin-less Win Streak Snapped
- Updated: February 25, 2015
In the absence of Blake Griffin, the Clippers are 4-2. After dropping the first game without Griffin in a rather decisive blowout by Oklahoma City the Clippers started to figure things out, winning four in a row with two wins before and two coming after the All-Star break. Glen “Big Baby” Davis stepped up as the emotional leader off of the bench while Jamal Crawford dropped in buckets the way we’ve all come to expect from him as the sixth man and third leading scorer on the team. And Austin Rivers even got in on the fun with a career high 28 points against the Kings. DeAndre Jordan and Chris Paul have done what they needed to and took the starting lineup over after the injury to Griffin, but there is a growing concern. Exhaustion.
Against the rival Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night the Clippers looked well, exhausted. Chris Paul, despite having a magnificent performance of 30 points and 10 assists, uncharacteristically turned the ball over on the last possession and it would ultimately cost the team the game. In no way is Paul to blame for that loss, but looking at the players at the end of that game did make one wonder if the extra minutes the key players have taken on since the injury to Griffin have started to wear on the team a little bit.
In the six games without Griffin, Chris Paul has seen the floor more often. Most likely due to him being the sole leader on the floor without Griffin to help. In those six games, Paul has played 40 minutes twice and has played less than 35 minutes just once and that was in a blowout 126-99 win over Sacramento. So far this season, Paul is averaging 34.7 minutes per game. However in the month a February, a month where the majority of games have been played without Griffin, Paul is averaging 36.2 minutes per game. No, that is not a major jump in minutes, but it was easy to tell against Memphis that either the few extra minutes per night or taking over sole leadership responsibility is starting to wear on Paul. Given his past as being the sole leader of the Hornets for multiple seasons, my best guess is it’s the minutes.
The Clippers have also started using different lineups in an attempt to bring more scoring onto the floor without their leading scorer present. One that has seen quite an increase and that intrigued myself was a lineup that included Paul, Redick and Crawford in the backcourt. The playmaking ability of Paul along with the range of Redick and Crawford has helped the Clippers space the floor efficiently enough to put more points on the board than any other mix of three backcourt players. While Crawford and Redick on the floor at the same time does not exactly scream defensive juggernaut, this is a lineup I would like to see Rivers turn to more often when Griffin does return from injury as it could lead to an amazing pairing of offense with those three up top while Griffin and Jordan man the post.
Next on the agenda for the Clip Show is a four game road trip that includes three playoff certainties in Houston, Memphis and Chicago along with one rebuilding Minnesota team. Blake Griffin will not be making the road trip with the team as he will be staying back in Los Angeles to work on his final stages of recovery from his elbow surgery to remove a staph infection. Griffin, whom for the first time since surgery was seen without his sling or stitches in his elbow Monday night, is hopeful to return at the conclusion of the road-trip although no definitive timetable has been given by the Clippers as of yet.
Stay with us at Calisportsnews.com as we will keep you up-to-date on all things Los Angeles Clippers and the rest of the LA sports teams! All Cali, All the time!
Related Posts
About Connor Aylward
