Ranking all 26 starting units the Los Angeles Clippers have used this year
No. 26 – 21
No. 26: Gallinari, W. Johnson, Jordan, Rivers, Thornwell (Score: -132.9, Record: 1-0)
Los Angeles went with this starting rotation just once, and it’s not hard to see why. Earning a score of -132.9, this lineup was far and away the worst. Ironically, the Clippers won their matchup with the Washington Wizards in that game, 113-112. The bench outscored the starters, led by Sweet Lou’s 35 and Montrezl Harrell‘s 11. On the other hand, Sindarius Thornwell posted a team-low -15 in plus/minus rating.
No. 25: Harrell, Jordan, Rivers, C. Willams, Wilson (-97.8, 1-0)
Another lineup that Doc tried just once, this combination might’ve faltered due to the lack of a true point guard. However, that isn’t the fault of Rivers. The Clippers were without Teodosic and Patrick Beverley, meaning they had to start either Austin Rivers or Jawun Evans up top. But since Austin was coming off a career night and Evans is a rookie, Rivers got the start. He and Jordan combined for 51, but the team was again led by Williams off the bench. Evans also went for 15 in a win over the Houston Rockets, when he earned his title of “Harden Stopper“.
No. 24: W. Johnson, Jordan, Teodosic, L. Williams, Wilson (-57.5, 0-1)
When your starters are a combined plus/minus of -29 and your team shoots 28% from three-point range, your odds of winning plummet. The Clippers tried this lineup once in a losing effort against the Miami Heat, a game in which LA scored just 85 points. Williams connected on 4 of his 16 attempts, had 7 turnovers, and scored 13. Jamil Wilson was something of a bright spot, hitting 3 of his 5 shots beyond the arc.
No. 23: Harrell, W. Johnson, Jordan, Rivers, L. Williams (-40.4, 0-2)
The Clippers were blown out both times they tried this lineup, another without a true point guard. Dropping both games to the Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks by a combined 45 points, it’s a wonder that this lineup’s score isn’t lower. It straight up stunk, which is shown by its -72 plus/minus rating versus Dallas. The team was missing Blake Griffin, Beverley, and Teodosic, but the performances here are inexcusable. Losing both games made this rotation’s score take a big dip.
No. 22: Evans, Griffin, Jordan, Teodosic, C. Williams (-31.0, 1-0)
Once again, the bench bails out the starters. Lou’s 40-piece against the Charlotte Hornets saved this lineup from falling further down in the rankings. Scoring 49 of the team’s final 106 points, this starting rotation failed to get anything going against Kemba Walker and co. That being said, Griffin scored 25, but was outdone by Walker’s 30. The silver lining? Jordan went 6-6 from the charity stripe.
No. 21: W. Johnson, Jordan, Thornwell, L. Williams, Wilson (-27.3, 0-1)
You might be starting to see a trend here. For one thing, Lou Williams is in three of the bottom six starting lineups. While this doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s better off the bench, it’s something worth looking into. So I did. But from what I found, there was no definitive answer — his numbers were almost equal. Therefore, the problem had to be elsewhere. So I looked around some more, and found that when Wesley Johnson and Thornwell play together, the duo gets outscored by 13.1 points per 100 possessions, Johnson’s worst teammate combo of the season. Bingo. It’s no wonder that these two pop up together in two of the six worst starting rotations.