LA Clippers Advantage Vs. the Portland Trail Blazers: The Defense by Committee on Dame
The LA Clippers have had success against the Portland Trail Blazers in the regular season this year. 2 wins in 2 games while scoring 130.5 points per game, shooting 50.5% from the field and 43% from three, outscoring the Blazers by 20 points per game.
A big part of their success has been the way the LA Clippers have guarded Damian Lillard. Dame shot 3-14 from the field in their first meeting and 2-14 in their second. On 14 three point attempts against the Clips, Dame has only hit 1.
The LA Clippers are a very good defensive team, so success on that end shouldn’t surprise us, but holding an offensive talent like Damian Lillard to shooting that poor is impressive no matter what.
How have the LA Clippers managed to pull this off? It’s been a group effort, and that’s the key. Per NBA Stats, the Clipper who has guarded Dame for the most time is Patrick Beverley at 5 minutes and 52 seconds.
For comparison, Ben Simmons has only appeared in 1 game against the Blazers (he was out for the other one) and guarded Dame for 8 minutes. Ditto for guys like Marcus Smart and Trae Young, who have only played against Dame once and have guarded him for a similar amount of time as Bev.
Dame has spent time being guarded by Bev, by PG, by Reggie Jackson, by Nicolas Batum. The LA Clippers have thrown a committee at Dame, and it’s worked so far. There are several players on the Clips who are more than willing to step up and guard Lillard. Dame’s in the unenviable position where he could work to get away from Beverley, only to be greeted by Paul George or Kawhi Leonard.
That contingent of strong defenders is going to prove beneficial should the Trail Blazers meet the LA Clippers in the playoffs, and I expect the Clips to leverage that to their advantage.