The Los Angeles Clippers have finished their season with a positive record (42-40) but were out of the playoffs at the 10th position in the Western Conference.
The Los Angeles Clippers are, with the Denver Nuggets, the only franchise with a positive record excluded from the postseason. The last year just the Miami Heat were with a not-negative record (41-41) but out of the playoffs run. This year the Heat has been able to reach the sixth position and the post-season qualification.
The comparison between the last Los Angeles Clippers season with the Miami Heat 2016-17 is quite interesting. The Clippers offense run 109.3 points per game, almost six points more than the Heat last year. This data is following the league trend. In fact, as reported by The Nylon Calculus, the moneyball is increasing its’ importance season by season and the game is every season faster and more selective. For example, the 3-point attempts per team are almost 29 per game, and the teams are renouncing more and more to the mid-range shots preferring to be closer to the basket or shooting from three. And it’s no coincidence that the Clippers have realized this year one of the biggest Moreyball index improvement, jumping from 56 to 76 percent.
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This is what Doc Rivers has tried to develop this year. The Clippers used DeAndre Jordan to create more pick ‘n roll situations, converted in an average of 52.2 points per game in the paint and 60.1 percent of points scored with the roll man. Miami in 2017 used Hassan Whiteside in the painted area, scoring the 45.1 points per game from this specific spot. The Clippers have a higher percentage because Jordan was a perfect screener to set picks for shooters as Austin Rivers, Lou Williams, Tobias Harris and Milos Teodosic or to get open for catch lob passes high at the rim for dunks.
The main difference between the Los Angeles Clippers this year and the Miami Heat of 2016-17 is how they built the shot behind the arc. In fact, the Miami Heat have an average of 89.1 percent of three points made assisted, while the Clippers were not able to get more than the 72.2 percent. On the other side, Doc Rivers used Lou Williams and Austin Rivers to create more isolation and hero balls. This is the reason why the Clippers averaged 27.8 points per game from three points unassisted, almost three times more than the Miami Heat last year.
And the assists are a crucial point to explain the difference reason of some lacks in this season. The Clippers opponents averaged 17.4 points off turnovers and 15.4 fastbreak points, higher than the Miami Heat last season.
Another interesting comparison is the narrative around their season. The Miami Heat completed a beautiful comeback after an 11-30 start, the Clippers instead were 11-18. The Miami Heat found their turning point when Coach Erik Spoelstra put Hassan Whiteside in the post and created spacing for Goran Dragic and Dion Waiters for driving to the paint.
In the same way, Doc Rivers accepted the Blake Griffin trade to the Detroit Pistons and reorganized the game style. DeAndre Jordan has had a positive effort, being the fourth-fastest center in this regular season averaging 3.91 miles per hour considering all movements (sprinting, jogging, standing, and walking). At the same time, Lou Williams and Austin Rivers, when back from the injury, are with Tobias Harris on the top 25 players in attempts from drives.
The future is interesting for the Clippers. They have a lot of cap space available and this could increase if DeAndre Jordan will decide to opt out. The Clippers used the extension on Lou Williams under the Mid-Level Extension and have to decide if offer a new contract to Avery Bradley, free agent and able to sign with any team.
The last summer, after that bitter-sweet season, the Miami Heat re-signed Dion Waiters and James Johnson after the positive 2016-17 season and agreed to terms with Kelly Olynyk.
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During this season, the guard played just 30 games before being put on the injury list and now Pat Riley has lost the flexibility the next summer. Under Jerry West‘s regime, it is hard to predict what the Clippers are currently planning. The Clippers have two lottery picks for the next draft and one of them could be used to reach an important player in a trade. At the same time, the Clippers have found in C.J. Williams and Tyrone Wallace two unexpected good rotation players. Danilo Gallinari showed he can be a really good power forward in a modern lineup when healthy and Tobias Harris is an affordable scorer.
After all, the Miami Heat have reached the sixth position in Eastern Conference this year and been eliminated the first round against the Philadelphia 76ers in six games. The Clippers have the potentiality to be better.