The veteran and rookie combining to inspire the Los Angeles Clippers

Lob City? Nah. Clamp City? Maybe. Gilgeous-Alexander City? Now we’re getting somewhere! The 2018/19 Los Angeles Clippers have the potential to be remembered as the debut season of a league superstar and we’ve broken down the early season numbers that say why. 

There’s nothing quite like jumping to conclusions and over-analyzing numbers three games into a sporting season, is there?

Well, that’s exactly what we’re about to do because the pre-season hype over Los Angeles Clippers rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has translated onto the court and this writer isn’t the only one excited about it.

The Clippers traded up in the draft to take the 20-year-old guard out of Kentucky with the 11th pick and while it’s his defensive smarts and incredible length that has Clipper fans frothing at the mouth, his offense hasn’t gone unnoticed either, failing to overplay his hand, taking what the defense gives him each time down the court.

While the Canadian native has been impressive and undoubtedly will be watched closely right throughout the season, the impressive play of his backcourt partner, Lou Williams, on both sides of the ball has stood out equally as much as the pair come off the bench together.

Williams’ offensive talents won’t surprise anyone in the league at this point as the two-time sixth man of the year continues to show he can score from anywhere on the court and despite starting the season a little cold (11-38 FGM), it’s his defence that has turned the heads of many, with his chase down block on James Harden in Sunday night’s win over Houston highlighting his stellar start on that side of the ball.

The Duo

After three games, the duo rank among the top 15 in the league for defensive win shares, with Gilgeous-Alexander sitting in 8th (.238) and Williams in 12th (.224). The rookie sits ahead of Joel Embiid and Draymond Green. Make of that what you will.

Additionally, Gilgeous-Alexander ranks 6th for defensive rating among players who average more than 20 minutes per night with Williams hot on his heels in 8th.

Keep in mind these numbers have come after three games (Yes, I know, only three games) against teams not only expected but appear near certainties to make the playoffs and push for top four seeds in the ultra-competitive western conference.

Sure, both Shai and Lou are coming off the bench and are going up against second units but that’s where the duo are at right now, at least in the eyes of Doc Rivers and his coaching staff.

For how long that last remains to be seen, especially when you break it down even further and realize the pair rank 6th in the league for defensive effective field goal percentage (dEFG%) among 2-man lineups (Gilgeous-Alexander and Tobias Harris rank fourth).

Add Harris into the equation and the trio rank 2nd in the league in dEFG% among 3-man lineups (37.7) while owning a more than respectable 55.6% eFG% of their own up the other end of the floor (Williams, Gilgeous-Alexander and Luc Mbah a Moute rank in the top 25).

The common denominators among all this are Gilgeous-Alexander, a rookie who has barely earned his paycheck and Williams, a veteran known more for sinking ridiculous fall-away jumpers than doing his best LeBron James impersonation on the reigning league MVP.

The duos early (early) season success has already begun to leave fans wondering how long it will take for Rivers to thrust the rookie into the starting line up. Will elevating one or the other but not both compromise the apparent chemistry between the two? Or will their strengths help Patrick Beverley and Avery Bradley recover their slow start to the season on both sides of the ball?

While they’re just a couple of the questions that Rivers has to ponder, Sunday’s win against Houston might’ve given fans a hint at who Rivers prefers to close out games with this season.

The Surprising Group

The line up of Danilo Gallinari, Montrezl Harrell, Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and Harris was the Clippers most successful on the night and one that Rivers put his faith in to close out the game and it wasn’t difficult to understand why.

That 5-man group poses an excellent balance of offence, defence and hustle while giving the Clippers at least three guys who can knock shots down from the perimeter as well as bringing together three of the teams top four players for positive net rating, with, you guessed it, Gilgeous-Alexander leading the way.

The former Wildcat’s defensive rating coupled with his growing offensive confidence leaves him with a net rating of +33.0, streaks ahead of the next best Boban Marjanovic, while Williams sits in third, a position that speaks volumes of his defensive influence given his sub-par start offensively.

The Clippers knew what they had in Williams and certainly had a fair idea of the potential that Gilgeous-Alexander possessed but their combination this early in the season is something that you can be pretty sure they were not banking on.

I’ll take this final opportunity to reiterate that yes, we are only three games into the season, but there’s plenty of reason for excitement and optimism out of Clipper fans, even outside of this backcourt duo.

One thing is for sure. This Clippers team will play with heart and hustle all season long, regardless of the scoreboard and the metrics that are so often talked about.