LA Clippers: 3 most important players not named Kawhi Leonard or Paul George

Lou Williams

The reigning Sixth Man of the Year and one of this year’s finalists, Lou Williams will also be vastly important in the playoffs for the LA Clippers. Much like Beverley though, I believe it’s not what he is known for that will matter.

We know what Lou is capable of offensively in the playoffs. He was the team’s leading scorer in last year’s first-round series versus the Warriors. Sharing time with George and Leonard will open up his game even more but defense is where my focus is.

In the playoffs, teams will target certain players, trying to generate mismatches. When Williams is on the floor, especially late game, he is by far the Clippers’ worst defender. We saw hints of this in the Lakers game prior to the restart where LeBron James just forced Lou into switches over and over again.

I don’t have the stats in front of me to back it up but since the restart in Orlando, Williams has looked better defensively. No, he cannot make up for his shortcomings physically but his effort was there and that’s all we can ask for. If Lou is trying on defense and can make himself only a slight net negative or even a neutral player on defense, teams won’t be able to exploit him.

In closing situations, he’ll share the court with Beverley, Leonard, and George, so he won’t have a ton of pressure on him and can guard the third or fourth worst option on the opposing team. I believe he can do enough to not get constantly picked on and if he can, this team becomes that much tougher to beat.