LA Clippers: How Eric Bledsoe can contribute to team-wide goals

When it comes to Eric Bledsoe‘s new role on his new team in the LA Clippers, he needs to give the team what Patrick Beverley and Rajon Rondo couldn’t.

This was mostly a move to clear up some roster space in the backcourt, but Bledsoe can turn this into a true net positive for his former and now current team.

If he wants to do that, he’s going to have to flash the Bledsoe of old. He’ll need to play offense like he did in Phoenix, and play defense like he did in Milwaukee.

If Eric Bledsoe wants this trade to be effective for the LA Clippers, he needs to be able to go and get his own bucket.

It wasn’t long ago when Eric Bledsoe used to be one of the better up-and-coming scorers in basketball. When he played for the Suns, he was really starting to live up to his nickname of ‘Mini LeBron.’

Bledsoe could finish, he could shoot, and he could score from so many different spots on the floor. He knew how to get to the line too, and hit over 81% of his free throws. He put up 18.8 points per game as a point guard, and averaged six assists per game.

He’s never been better than that offensively. That being said, he has at least improved his defense since then.

He was a back-to-back All-Defensive selection from the 2018-2019 season to the 2019-2020 season in Milwaukee. Bledsoe was always good on D, averaging 1.2 steals per game with the Clippers (despite averaging under 20 minutes per game) and 1.6 steals with Phoenix. With Milwaukee, he had 1.5 steals per game.

He had a down year last year on defense. It wasn’t just his offense that wasn’t what it once was. As far as the steals go, he averaged just 0.8 steals per contest.

He wasn’t the same player in general in New Orleans. Perhaps he wasn’t handling the ball enough. He was much more of a two-guard with the Pelicans, with Lonzo Ball running the point over there.

He’ll be able to be the primary ball handler with the Clippers’ second-team, though, so maybe he can get back to where he was. The Clippers really need his offense and shooting, as they are a team that relies heavily on three-point shooting.

Bledsoe has proven that he can be a big-time impact player on both ends of the court. It’s going to come down to his consistency and just how well-rounded he can be now that he’s back in a Clippers uniform.