Los Angeles Clippers & Their Playoff Push
- Updated: March 1, 2015
(Photo via @LAClippers)
The Los Angeles Clippers are 5-3 without Blake Griffin. Griffin is recovering from surgery to remove a staph infection in his right elbow. They are looking to make the playoffs for the fourth straight year. The Clippers are currently in 6th place, and 6.5 games ahead of the 9th place New Orleans Pelicans. A sense of urgency is needed in order to win the NBA Championship.
Chris Paul has been called upon to do more scoring while continuing to create scoring opportunities for his teammates. During the 8-game stretch without Blake Griffin, Chris Paul has been averaging 19.8 points per game and 12.5 assists per game.
The Clippers need to find other sources of scoring to stay in the games with playoff teams. Clippers head coach, Doc Rivers spoke with the LA Times and said the following,“Hopefully, a couple of guys get their rhythm, start playing better, get their confidence. That’s what you hope when you have an injury to a key guy and I hope that’s what’s happening.” Doc has experimented with different lineups to get scoring and also have energy for the defensive end. Coach Rivers has found a 3-guard lineup with Chris Paul, J.J. Redick, and Jamal Crawford while Deandre Jordan, a healthy Blake Griffin fill up the paint. Once the game reaches the 4th quarter, the Clippers offense become stagnant, which creates a sense of hope that Paul or Crawford can score with their 1-on-1 skills. The Clippers bench needs to increase their production on the court, in order for their starters to get some rest during the game.
DeAndre Jordan is shooting a league’s best of 72 percent from the field and having a huge impact on the other side of the court, by ranking number one at rebounds per game and third in blocks per game. Since Griffin has been sidelined, Jordan has recorded double-digit rebounds in all 7 games. With Blake being sidelined for a few weeks, Jordan’s confidence has increased with the spacing on the court. Coach Doc Rivers is showing is confidence in DJ, with the increase in play calls. The inconsistency for him has been from the free throw line, shooting 41 percent from the charity stripe. For the Clippers to close out games and keep their rhythm of flow during the games, DeAndre must hit at least half of his free throws every game.
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