No. 2 big storyline going into LA Clippers training camp: Backcourt combinations
With Leonard out, what our going to be the backcourt combinations for the LA Clippers this year?
Do we want to start both Reggie Jackson and Eric Bledsoe at the same time? That may mean that we’ll have to experiment with Bledsoe at the two-guard, which could prove to be risky due to his regression last year when he started playing the position more often. They’d need training camp to decide whether that should be the move.
Do they want to start Terance Mann alongside Jackson? If he really shines in training camp, they may have to start him in most lineups and swap out Nicolas Batum. That may have been their plans all along.
They also need to figure out how they want the draft picks to be involved. Do we want to have Brandon Boston Jr. playing the two more often than the three? How much run should Jason Preston get?
We’ll need to figure out if we want to prioritize minutes from our first-round draft pick in Keon Johnson as opposed to veterans like Luke Kennard.
There’s a lot to sort through here, and the Clips are going to need to use training camp performance as one of the factors that goes into these decisions.