There have been plenty of encouraging signs during this early stretch of the LA Clippers' season. after being picked to finish outside the playoff picture by many before the year began, the Clippers have really outdone themselves and played a much higher level of basketball than many outside the fanbase would have guessed. James Harden has been excellent, and LA has taken several teams by surprise.
But the flip side of the coin is that they have been unable to finish in close contests down the stretch. Those struggles have resulted in the Clippers holding a disappointing 2-3 record, with all three losses coming at home at Intuit Dome. The only reason 2-3 is such a massive letdown is that LA has given us plenty of reason to think they are capable of playing above that level, and in due time, perhaps they still can.
One of the biggest individual problems the Clippers have had so far is with Kevin Porter Jr., who has been playing far below his talent level. As of this writing, Porter is averaging just 7.4 points on 33.3% shooting, including an abysmal 6.3% from three-point range. Kevin has made just one of his 16 attempts from beyond the arc through five games.
KPJ has been struggling shooting the ball
Now, Porter is also just coming off his best game of the season against Phoenix on Thursday night, wherein he scored 14 points and made 50% of his shots. So the numbers were significantly worse before that outing improved his stats a bit. The biggest reason KPJ's lacking performance is so significant is the impact of his play valued against what he was expected to provide this team.
There is of course still plenty of time for him to turn things around. But Porter was seen as one of the better offensive players on this team, and certainly the biggest scoring punch coming off the bench. Yes, it has been a while since he played in the NBA after spending last season overseas. But it did not seem like he would need an extended adjustment period to get back to his previous level of production.
Perhaps the most concerning part of all this? KPJ's shooting form has changed. His approach to shooting looks far different from the last time he wore an NBA uniform in Houston, and the results are not looking good as of yet. Again, this can all be changed around before long, but this is not the kind of production Clippers fans were hoping for from Kevin.