As long as Kawhi Leonard has been out of the starting lineup and will continue to be, head coach Tyronn Lue has tried to improve the defensive metrics by starting Kris Dunn alongside Derrick Jones Jr. Yet, Lue took a strength and balanced it out with a weakness by starting John Collins, which was vastly requested by Clipper Nation. With his subpar defense next to James Harden’s, inevitably, notable progress will not be made.
Lue made this decision because of the offensive upside it had. The spacing is incredible, both could make the inside presence, and when in doubt, the former MVP would have two options: step back for three or lob the rock to where only Collins could get it.
On the contrary, their incapabilities on defense, plus what the rest of the roster lacks, make them bound to underperform. For the fans, in particular, it will be difficult to accept this, as everyone thought the production from last season would be replicated.
The facts about the Clippers turn a bad situation into a disaster
Every player in the LA Clippers’ starting five must show their teeth defensively, and the only two following this task are Kris Dunn and Derrick Jones Jr. If this is how it is going to be, defense will not be the Clippers’ identity throughout 2025-26.
Unfortunately, only so much can be expected, as John Collins and James Harden will officially be playing more minutes together, with Tyronn Lue confirming what the starting lineup will look like in the near future.
Ty Lue on John Collins in the starting lineup:
— Joey Linn (@joeylinn_) November 11, 2025
“I’m gonna roll with it for a while.”
Together, in their two-man lineups, Harden and Collins have a defensive rating of 116.3 in 163 minutes. This is the eighth-worst defensive rating on the team of all of LA’s two-man lineups playing at least 150 minutes together.
This is atrocious, yet they are two that must be played together, as the Clippers do not have many sources of offense with Kawhi Leonard and Bradley Beal out.
Thus, an undesired situation is already created. The cherry on top is that the Clippers, altogether, are already old and moving more slowly than they would like. So, even if Lue wakes up one morning and wants Collins on the bench, his replacement will probably not be able to do much better, especially if it is Nicolas Batum or Bogdan Bogdanovic.
Therefore, at the trade deadline, the Clippers’ scheme could change, but for the next few months, fans of LA will have to accept that their favorite team may continue to be one of the worst defenses in basketball.