Five Things Learned from the Clippers Preseason
October 24, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum (3) moves to the basket against Los Angeles Clippers forward Spencer Hawes (10) during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
4) DeAndre Jordan and Spencer Hawes will play many minutes together
When the Clippers announced the signing of Spencer Hawes this off-season, I saw him to be a viable option to play alongside Blake Griffin and only Blake Griffin. Because of circumstances, it’s impossible for Rivers to pull that off, but it looks like the twin towers lineup of Hawes-Jordan is going to be a thing.
Considering Glen Davis and Ekpe Udoh are serviceable forward, it’ll be interesting to see how often Doc goes to this duo. Looking solely at skills the two fit — Hawes fits outside (and inside) while Jordan is paint-oriented. But on the other side of the ball, you’re asking for trouble. While Jordan has improved at the rim, Rivers would be leaving Hawes to defend whichever four is on the floor.
Maybe it’s a matchup in case teams i.e. Memphis and San Antonio throw out two bigs, but if it’s against a stretch-four or someone like Anthony Davis, the idea seems like a no go because Hawes isn’t capable of defending in space, or at least defending effectively in space.
Jordan could swap places with Hawes, with him defending fours, a task Jordan is better built for due to overwhelming athleticism, but if the opposing teams head coach has any coaching sense, a stretch-four could be used as a decoy to pull Jordan out of the paint while Hawes is left to defend the paint and weak-side rotations.