With no Austin Rivers, Chris Paul is seeing a large increase in minutes and the long-term affect of such could be detrimental to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Being without Austin Rivers shouldn’t hurt the Clippers much.
He’s improved to being an okay player in his second season in LA but with the right shuffling, Austin’s impact can be replicated by the cast of players at Doc’s disposal: Lance Stephenson, Wesley Johnson, Paul Pierce, etc.
Those guys have done a decent job producing in his absence. Unfortunately, that hasn’t stopped Rivers’ absence from creating a negative of some sort.
Sharing the role of backup combo guard, shifting from the 1 and 2 spot at Doc Rivers‘ discretion, Austin was a shoe-in for 21.6 minutes per game pre injury (broken hand). This being the case allowed for Doc Rivers to keep Chris Paul‘s minutes from inching high, with CP3 averaging a career-low 32.7 minutes per contest, down from 34.8 last season and a career average of 36 even.
Over the years the San Antonio Spurs have shown the world the value of keeping stars, especially the older ones, rested and fresh for the playoffs: the result is the ability to expend energy in the postseason that would’ve been used in the regular season. This rest plan can’t directly be attributed to the Spurs’ championship winning but it’s a noticeable factor Gregg Popovich has forced into the equation.
Paul isn’t in the same age space as Tim Duncan or Manu Ginobili but between the 30 years of age and the recent and distant past of nagging injuries, less is better, but that fortune hasn’t been attainable of late as no Rivers has forced Doc to increase minutes for Chris Paul.
Dating back to the Minnesota game (where 1) Austin initially injured his hand and 2) was ejected early on), Paul has seen an increase in minutes played, as illustrated below.
Pre-Blake Griffin Injury: 32.2 minutes
Post-Blake Injury, Pre-Minnesota: 32.4 minutes
Minnesota & Up: 38.3 minutes
That 38.3 minutes per would rank tops in the NBA, above Jimmy Butler‘s league leading 37.9 minutes.
The Clippers know all too well the ails of a fatigued superstar. Such has played the team’s achilles heel in consecutive playoffs as Doc Rivers the GM has failed to couple one of the league’s best starting lineups with a good bench, average bench even.
More from Clipperholics
- Grade the trade: Clippers shockingly land Trae Young in wild proposal
- 3 of the most overpaid players on the LA Clippers’ roster
- Trading for this player covers the Clippers’ biggest weakness
- How will the LA Clippers fare in the in-season tournament?
- Why the LA Clippers should steer clear of recent gold medalist waiver
A direct improvement to the situation could be increasing the minutes of both Jamal Crawford and Lance Stephenson, but namely the latter. Crawford’s played well enough of late to be trusted with extra minutes, and regardless of what myself or anyone else thinks, Rivers would entrust his veteran shooting guard with the responsibility. It’s Stephenson where the intrigue lies.
Playing Stephenson 20 minutes per game won’t be the reason the Clippers bend or break in the stretch without Austin, and unless Doc has plans to trade him, at some you’ve got to instill faith in Lance. So what better time to do that the now, when a spot has opened in the rotation.
With Pablo Prigioni in the picture and healthy, there’s no added responsibility for Lance to run the offense, opposite of earlier this season when every bench man was tasked with the duty.
Stephenson played 24 minutes against the Boston Celtics but the minutes came at the expense of Pablo Prigioni, who played 5:22 — a bad matchup against Boston’s guards may have been the reason for that. If Prigioni sees an increase, that shouldn’t keep Stephenson from the same.
It’s a situation the Clippers would like to not be in but injuries, especially those suffered by Clippers players, are pretty unpredictable. And it’s a situation that, once again, puts the spotlight on Doc Rivers’ inability to fill out the team’s depth with meaningful players.
Next: Should Clippers try to sign Larry Sanders?
Hopefully this stretch doesn’t come back to hurt the Clippers, because this team needs Chris Paul at his best when it’s most meaningful. Or the results will once again be these same in the summer.