With only nine games of the regular season left, the Los Angeles Clippers are on pace to be the first team in NBA history to have a player lead the league in each shooting category.
The Los Angeles Clippers are still on their road towards the playoffs, surely locking up the 4th seed in the Western Conference at 46-27 with the excitement of Blake Griffin‘s expected return on April 3 to look forward to. Now that they’ve won three straight games, they are poised with the chance to end the regular season in far more convincing fashion than a recent spell of poor losses. And on top of that, they have a chance to make history by leading the NBA with shooters in every category.
If they continue on their pace of excellent efficiency, the Clippers can become the first team in NBA history to have players lead the league in field goal percentage, free throw percentage and three-point percentage.
It’s an impressive accomplishment to have such efficiency in so many areas of your offense, made even more impressive by the fact that no team has done so before.
We're on pace to make @NBA history! #AShotAtHistory pic.twitter.com/e6qxQMZGzL
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) March 29, 2016
Of course, you will have guessed who the culprits are for the Clippers. DeAndre Jordan has been a non-stop dunk machine for years, posterizing helpless defenders and throwing down alley-oops in emphatic fashion. Along with only taking 6.6 field goal attempts per game, it’s why his field goal percentage is so high at 70.2, although he’s gradually adding more to his game with occasional drives and hook shots in the post.
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Meanwhile, J.J. Redick has been burning defenses in the exact opposite way to Jordan. As per usual, he’s a deadly threat whenever someone kicks the ball out to him on the perimeter in a half court offense or as a trailer in transition. But, as he does better than anyone with the Clippers, Redick is at his deadliest when he’s running off screens with his tireless energy to create space and smooth stroke off the bounce to finish.
With a league-best three-point percentage of 47.5, he’s having the best season of his career by far, smashing his previous career-high of 43.7 from 2014-15.
And as for Jamal Crawford, he’s been nearly automatic from the line through most of his time in the league. Since 2007-08, he’s shot at least 85 percent on free throws every single season, leading the NBA in 2011-12 with 92.7 and he’s doing it again this season with 91.3.
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The Clippers have so many deadly weapons, and with Chris Paul to run the show from the point, they rank 6th in offensive efficiency.
Jordan, Crawford and Redick are on pace to make history, and have a great chance of doing so with only nine games left to keep it up.