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What the LA Clippers need to leave in 2016

By Jasmine Robinson

Nov 25, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (6) and guard Chris Paul (left) look on from the bench during the fourth quarter against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Pistons win 108-97. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 25, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Los Angeles Clippers center DeAndre Jordan (6) and guard Chris Paul (left) look on from the bench during the fourth quarter against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Pistons win 108-97. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 26, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Nikola Jokic (15) and Denver Nuggets guard Gary Harris (14) defend a shot by Los Angeles Clippers guard Jamal Crawford (11) in the first half of the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 26, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Nikola Jokic (15) and Denver Nuggets guard Gary Harris (14) defend a shot by Los Angeles Clippers guard Jamal Crawford (11) in the first half of the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

Bad offense

We all know that defense wins championships. And Doc has mentioned plenty of times that he’s not worried as much about offense, but he should be. At the end of the day, whichever team scores the most points wins. And for six games in a row, that hasn’t been the Clippers. One of the main reasons the team has dropped to the 7th seed in the Western Conference overnight is because of the cringe-worthy offense.

It’s understandably hard for the players to orchestrate an offense without Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. In games where the duo is missing, the team has trouble generating play and movement that’s efficient and gives players easy shots. With the addition of a couple of other players having day-to-day statuses, this leaves Doc having to shuffle lineups like a deck of cards, which leads to lineups playing by ear rather than having set plays or strategies.

Sort of like when you play a pickup game with four other people you just met. Obviously that’s not totally the case with the Clippers, but that’s definitely what it looks like sometimes.

The silver lining is that we end up discovering new things that work out that we may not have tried if everyone was healthy. This has led to increased minutes for Alan Anderson and most recently, Doc playing Brandon Bass and Marreese Speights at the same time.

Unfortunately, Jamal Crawford is the only player aside from Blake and Chris that can truly create his own shot. Even more unfortunately, he’s extremely streaky game-to-game, so you can’t rely on him for consistent scoring each game. This just creates more offensive instability. Doc seems to be okay with the ball in Jamal’s hands all of the time, but that’s the least efficient way to get points.

The Clippers have too many talented players to resort to hero ball. We know what this team, specifically the bench, is capable of doing, after being shown in the first 16 games of the year. Their offense used to be lethal to other teams, but now it’s stagnant and the ball is sticky.

There’s obviously no clear-cut way for the team to resolve its offensive perils. But without CP3 and Blake, the team has to keep the ball moving. Only one other player can create his own shot, so it’s paramount that the ball keeps zipping around the court. (Though on Friday, Raymond Felton proved that he can do his own thing, scoring 26 points on 50 percent shooting.)

With lots of passing, the ball finds itself in the hands of catch and shoot players like Redick. Plus, the basketball gods just always seem to reward around-the-horn passing with points, which never gets boring to watch.

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