LA Clippers: Four players we are most excited to watch this season

A few of our writers got together to talk about which members of the LA Clippers they’re most excited to watch this season.

Welcome to Four Quarters, a series we are doing here at Clipperholics. Each part of this series will feature four of our writers discussing a given topic regarding LA Clippers news, opinions, rumors, and everything in between.

Today, Garrett Chorpenning, Ryan Snellings, Brian Cullen, and Joseph Raya-Ward will be giving their opinions on the player they are most excited to watch this season. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George were deemed ineligible to be selected since we all know how excited all of us are to watch them.

Joseph Raya-Ward: Ivica Zubac

To begin to understand why I’m so excited about Ivica Zubac this season, we first should look at the impact he had on the team last season.

If we go simply by counting stats, his contribution to last year’s team seems relatively uninspiring. In his 26 games with the LA Clippers, Zubac averaged 9.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, and less than one block per game. Decent, but not something that screams “key player on a playoff team.” BUT, if we dig a little deeper, Zubac’s contributions begin to show just how important he was to that team, and how important he can be to this one.

Zubac will be asked to do two things: play stout interior defense and rebound. Prior to his arrival last year, the Clippers were really bad at both. After he was traded to the team, the Clippers had notable improvements. Their overall rebounding percentage went from being the 19th ranked to the 10th, with their defensive and offensive rebounding percentages going from the 23rd in the league to the 15th and 18th respectively. Their opponent rebounding percentages improved as well, moving from the 23rd ranked percentage to the 15th.

While that might not seem like a huge leap, the jump from being a notably bad rebounding team to an average one was good enough to keep the Clippers in an incredibly difficult playoff race.

While Zubac may have lacked the raw block numbers last year, that belies just how solid his defense on the interior was. Among players who played at least 55 games last season, Zubac held opponents to the 8th-lowest field goal percentage on shots coming within 6 feet of the basket. If he can at least replicate that type of impact this year, the Clippers’ defense may be able to become one of the best in the league.

Zubac did have his shortcomings last year, with some offensive struggles and a particularly ugly performance in the first round series against the Golden State Warriors. The offensive struggles should be resolved with two fully functional hands (Zubac was plagued by injuries throughout his time with the Clippers) and being exposed by the Warriors is something that 99% of big men in the NBA can identify with. Given what he has looked like in the preseason, I would be less than worried about the latter of those two struggles.

He has come into the preseason having simultaneously filled out his frame while also looking lighter on his feet. Zubac finally looks like he is growing into his body, having added at least 25 pounds in the off-season. He also has been running the floor well, getting end to end much easier and faster than he was last year. His lateral quickness also seems to be an area he improved on before coming to camp, which will only help him be a better anchor for a modern NBA defense.

While I don’t expect Zubac to put up incredibly dominant stats, I do expect him to improve on his efficiency and unlock this team’s full potential.

There was some talk about Zubac helping stretch the floor, but the 22-year-old did not attempt a single three-point shot during the preseason. He may still dabble with that addition throughout the year, but him not attempting a single three seems to imply that the team is focusing on Zubac’s strengths in order to maximize the role he is most likely to fill on this team. There have been some concerns regarding the Clippers’ depth at the center position, especially in regard to defense and rebounding. With a healthy Zubac taking the next step, I don’t think that it will be a concern for much longer.

The Clippers are expected to be great, but with Zubac fulfilling his potential, they have a chance to be special.