With four games under their belt, and the fifth happening tonight at Intuit Dome, there are a multitude of explanations why the LA Clippers are 2-2 as the ninth seed, tied with the Utah Jazz and Houston Rockets. The perfect word to sum up where LA is right now is mediocre, and the best way to positively change that is for Tyronn Lue to ensure John Collins receives a minimum of 15 minutes each half.
Currently, the star forward is playing 25.5 minutes per game, and given that he comes off the bench, sometimes for Ivica Zubac, Kawhi Leonard, or Derrick Jones Jr., this is not enough for LA to attain stress-free wins.
In fact, increasing Collins' minutes significantly would be the best and most sustainable counter to the several guys who have shown inconsistencies on both sides of the ball.
Tyronn Lue's primary lineup should be centered around James Harden and John Collins
During the finalization of the LA Clippers' starting lineup, the coaching staff focused primarily on last season's analytics. They needed a player with the same type of 'pop' as Norman Powell, so Bradley Beal became Lue's starting shooting guard, but because LA had no data on John Collins, Derrick Jones Jr. secured the vacancy.
Jones Jr. is playing well, so there does not necessarily need to be any changes to the starters. Yet, with a half-by-half boost to Collins' playing time, James Harden will find it easy to click with him in most sets and through every transition possession.
Logically, Harden is a superstar floor general and Collins is an athletic freak, so they are bound to work well together, and the statistics amid LA's 2-2 record subtly build the case.
Individually, Collins is averaging 11.3 points and 6.5 rebounds with a field-goal percentage of 58.1, while the former MVP has posted 21.3 points and 8.0 assists on a true-shooting clip of 67.6%.
Together, in their two-player lineups, as officially presented by the NBA in its advanced statistics, they are listed at 48 minutes played thus far, with a net rating of 32.4.
That said, with the facts and observations matching, Collins should be on the floor as much as Harden(31.8 minutes). Lue could make an even split or have the Wake Forest product more in action in the second half, but as long as the goal of at least 30 is met, the Clippers will jump ahead of the West very soon.