Five Things Learned from the Clippers Preseason

October 21, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Harrison Barnes (40, right) dribbles the basketball against Los Angeles Clippers forward Matt Barnes (22, left) during the third quarter at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Clippers 125-107. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

2) The small forward rotation is still one big question mark

Personally, I found a lot of intrigue at the small forward position coming into the preseason. Matt Barnes remained and Reggie Bullock, a player I was quite high on through his rookie season, and Chris Douglas-Roberts, coming off an excellent season in 2013-14 was added into the fold following the departure of Jared Dudley. Heck, even Aussie forward Joe Ingles, now a free agent, was  an interesting body.

Fast forward until now and that intrigue has transformed a slight worry mixed with an inch of optimism. Whatever we saw through the preseason CAN’T carry over into the regular season right? Matt Barnes shot 6-of-44 from the field. Barnes, Bullock, and Douglas-Roberts all ranked in the bottom-three of team PER, being severely outplayed by third-year guard Jared Cunningham. Ingles didn’t receive any real playing time outside of one game in which he was chosen as starter.

According to Doc Rivers, Matt Barnes will enter the season as the starter, so that leaves Bullock and Douglas-Roberts to the reserve position. If preseason showed us anything, CDR will get the majority of minutes, but he’s just as big of an uncertainty as Bullock at this point, especially if his jump shot fails to break even.

This is a real issue and if you choose to ignore it, you’re putting a lot of eggs in the Blake Griffin, Chris Paul basket, etc. basket. Can they carry it? With an improved DeAndre Jordan, healthy J.J. Redick/Jordan Farmar, and Spencer Hawes, it’s possible, but if someone doesn’t break away from the pack, the trade deadline will be real interesting for the Clippers.