Los Angeles Clippers Mid-Season Grades: DeAndre Jordan

Defense: B

DeAndre Jordan is still a great defender, don’t get me wrong. But in relation to his previous seasons, he’s dropped off to some degree.

Teams are scoring roughly the same amount of points in the paint against Jordan as they usually do. He’s rebounding at a higher rate than he ever has before, and he averages more of them per game than one other player in the NBA.

What I want to focus on is his amount of blocks, or lack thereof.

Jordan is blocking less shots per game than he has in all but one of his NBA seasons — his second, in 2009. What’s more is that his block percentage, 2.5%, is a career-low.

For some reason, Jordan is unable to block shots this season. And it’s a mystery. I have no idea why he can’t. I do, however, think it’s something that needs to be discussed.

Nothing about his size or stature has changed. There hasn’t been a coaching change. He’s still playing the same position, and he’s playing it the same way he always has. Maybe it’s an effort thing?

He’s just not blocking shots.

The good thing is that most teams haven’t seemed to catch on to this, and a lot of guys seem hesitant to go directly at Jordan. He’s still an intimidating player, given his size and reputation.

It really isn’t even a major concern, to be honest. It’s just puzzling and it frustrates me.