2. The Clippers’ elite defensive stopper
FIRST TEAM ALL-DEFENSE!
It’s a shout we’ve famously heard from an incredibly hyped-up Tony Allen in the past, looking for his respect as one of the best defensive guards in recent NBA history.
It won’t be a cry we’ll hear from the far more mellow Luc Mbah a Moute, but he could be deserving of similar recognition this season if he continues his trademark defense at this current level.
The All-Defensive First Team is surely out of reach, seeing as guys like Kawhi Leonard and Draymond Green will be leading the way as forwards, but the point is that Luc has been exceptional on defense so far. He’s been covering point guards frequently to help ease the load on Chris Paul, and he can defend every position from one to four at a high level.
Using his persistent hustle, quick feet and length, Luc has been the defensive weapon at small forward that has helped the Clippers transform into the NBA’s 2nd ranked defense so far, currently allowing only 98.2 points per 100 possessions. Luc ranks 6th among all power forwards in Defensive Plus/Minus, and helps L.A. allow 9.1 fewer points per 100 possessions when he’s on the floor.
To have someone who can guard practically every position and defend the top opposing wing scorer on any given night is a huge asset, and while Luc is a very limited player offensively, what he brings at the other end of the floor is more than worth the cheap two-year, $4.5 million he re-signed for this summer on the Clippers’ bi-annual exception.
On top of the defense, Luc has stepped up offensively, too. He still can’t really do anything off the dribble besides attacking closeouts for the odd layup of dump off pass, but he’s improved from three to hit 44 percent of his shots from deep and make 0.7 per game (1.1 per 36 minutes). While that percentage won’t last, Luc hitting almost as many threes (11) as he did all last season (13) already is impressive, and any threat from him can help create more space in the paint.
If Luc can keep hitting threes at a reasonable rate (by his standards) to go along with his defense, the value for money the LA Clippers get from him is hard not to appreciate.