Three X-Factors
1) The Clippers’ super bench
Led by Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell, the Clippers’ bench is playing outstanding basketball this year. We lead the league in bench scoring at 53.0 points per game. The distance between us and 2nd place (Brooklyn at 47.4 ppg) is about the same as the difference between 2nd place and 8th place. In fact, this Clippers bench is scoring more per game than any bench in this millennium.
There's been a general uptick in bench scoring in recent years, but the Clippers this year are such a huge jump. Lots of credit to @TeamLou23 and @MONSTATREZZ for anchoring such a great second unit. #ClipperNation pic.twitter.com/UhirTCaMju
— Seth Kimbrell (@Seth_J_K) March 1, 2019
If they can keep up this energy, they could offset potential scoring outbursts by the Portland starters. And at the trade deadline, the Clips bolstered this bench by adding Garrett Temple, JaMychal Green and Wilson Chandler!
2) Doc’s Rotations
There have been some Clippers fans questioning the rotations of Coach Doc Rivers, especially in the latter half of the season, especially when it comes to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. But in the playoffs, the Clippers have a treasure trove of competent players, and Doc can tune the lineups to fit the flow of games.
There are at least 9 players capable of seeing the court in the playoffs on this team: the starting five, Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell, Garrett Temple, Wilson Chandler and JaMychal Green. Not to mention Wilson Chandler and Luc Mbah a Moute, who may or may not be in the rotations depending on health.
If Luc manages to come back and be himself again, he adds another really good defensive wing that we can throw at the Blazers.
That’s a good combination of guards, wings and bigs, which gives Doc a lot of wiggle room. Whether or not he’ll do much switching around is one question, but we could see a number of different lineups, depending on how the series is going.
3) Clippers’ Bigman Rotation
The Clippers have struggled all season with interior scoring and interior defense. But if the trio of Zubac, Harrell and Green can make life difficult on the inside for Portland, we could see a lot less help defense, which could lead to fewer open threes for the Blazers.
On the other hand, if Nurkic, Zach Collins and Enes Kanter feast on the inside, the Clips will have a tough time finding victory against this Portland squad. Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum are by far the most important players for Portland, but I think that the series will at least partially swing on if the Clippers can limit things on the inside.
If this is the series matchup, it’ll be a tough one for the Clips. Several things would have to bounce our way to see the upset happen, but it’s far from impossible. Anything can happen in the playoffs!