Despite making the All-NBA First Team and All-Defensive First Team last season, Doc Rivers believes DeAndre Jordan will have another “breakout year” for the Los Angeles Clippers.
While emerging as a strong post presence or miraculously hitting at least 50 percent of his free throws would have been amazing, DeAndre Jordan‘s 2015-16 season couldn’t have been much better. His rebounding dipped slightly, but Jordan averaged a career-high 12.7 points per game (leading the league in field goal percentage for the fourth straight year) while ranking 2nd in both rebounds (13.8) and blocks (2.3) per game as well. As he helped carry the Los Angeles Clippers in the absence of Blake Griffin and maintained his presence as a terrifying defender all year, Jordan earned All-NBA First Team honors for the first time in his career.
Along with making the All-Defensive First Team for the second straight year, Jordan was a force. Without major offensive improvement and some kind of efficiency from the charity stripe, Jordan can’t do too much more, especially with such credentials to his name.
However, that doesn’t stop Doc Rivers from believing his center is ready for a “breakout year” in 2016-17. Doc had the following to say on Adrian Wojnarowski’s podcast for The Vertical:
"“DJ, I think, is the guy that doesn’t get mentioned enough. I think DJ is ready to have a breakout year. Now, people say, ‘breakout, what do you mean? He was on the All-NBA team last year.’ I think DJ is at the age now, and at the maturity point now, where he’s about to enter into his prime and I think that’s a great thing for our team.”"
Before mentioning how Jordan further breaking out is key to the team’s future, Doc addressed why he believes the Clippers are ready to win now and take the next step forward.
Unfortunately, that’s always easier said than done, and that’s more obvious than ever now that the Golden State Warriors have added Kevin Durant to transform themselves into a super team roadblock to prevent anyone escaping the Western Conference in the playoffs.
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Even still, Doc referenced the Clippers’ previous failures, such as losing the 3-1 series lead to the Houston Rockets in 2015 and suffering a purely unlucky exit after season-ending injuries to Chris Paul and Blake Griffin against Portland this year.
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It’s true that previous failures can help teams grow. It’s the case in real life, too; people learn more from their failures than their successes.
That being said, for the Clippers to take those playoff experiences and apply them with their current talent to surpass this Warriors team is another seemingly impossible story altogether.
If the Clippers are going to test the Warriors, though, should they make it to the Western Conference Finals to face them, DeAndre Jordan will be vital. If Golden State has one notable weakness, it’s a lack of size. More than almost anyone else in the league, Jordan can try to bully them in that regard, both in the pick-and-roll, on the offensive glass, and defensively.
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If he can develop at all as Doc suggested, breaking out further by polishing his highly limited moves in the post and becoming more effective at taking slower centers off the dribble, Jordan and the Clippers can at least put up a fight in Golden State.