THE CLIPPERS ARE DANGEROUS

THE CLIPPERS ARE DANGEROUS

At a league-best 24 wins and 6 losses and a 16-game winning streak, it is clear that the Clippers are dangerous. At no point in franchise history have the Clippers ever owned the best record in the NBA this late in the season. Pulling off a 27-point comeback against the Grizzlies and a 19-point comeback against the Jazz, this team shows heart and resilience. This team has the best point differential in the NBA at 9.7 points per game. When you think they will lose, that is when they hit you hard. What makes this surprising team so strong? Good Question! To truly answer this question, we must analyze the depth and contributions of each player and work from there.  

Offense

It helps that The Los Angeles Clippers play with an elite starting lineup of Chris Paul, Willie Green, Caron Butler, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.

Blake Griffin has stepped up big this season and leads his team with 18.2 PPG and 8.9 RPG.

2 bright spots that aren’t mentioned to often are from Matt Barnes, who only plays 25 minutes a game,

One difference I see from Chris Paul and his team is that they are being more aggressive. He averages almost 10 assists per game, 167-355 with .470 of his field goals made, and making almost 90% of his free throws.

Deandre Jordan is second in the league in field goal percentage with .594.

Their second unit plays of equal potency. In fact, their second unit may be more powerful.

The Clippers' reserves are averaging a league-high 42.7 points per game. To put that into perspective, the starters are averaging 50.9 points.

The Clippers' second unit ranks fourth in the NBA with 8.6 assists and is fifth in field-goal percentage at 46.3. They also rank fifth in free-throw attempts, which displays how dynamic they are at attacking the rim. A league-high efficiency rating of 50.8 provides the additional evidence necessary.

Defense

This team leads the league in steals (324) which is a big deal. Chris Paul has 79 steals (2.63 steals per game which is 1^st in the league)and Blake Griffin has 45 steals, two big contributions that has led to much of the Clippers success. We haven’t even reached the middle of the season and Blake Griffin has 206 defensive rebounds in total which I believe is an unbelievable stat and leads to more opportunities to score points. The next player behind him is Deandre Jordan with 127 rebounds for the season.

Not only are the Los Angeles Clippers' reserves posting a league-high efficiency rating of 50.8, but they rank first in defensive rating. Not only are they atop of the league in this category, but they are significantly further ahead of the rest of their opposition. The Clippers sit at 18.2, while the second-ranked San Antonio Spurs rest at 14.0.

The Clippers’ reserves are averaging 18.2 rebounds per game, thus ranking fourth in the league. They top the ranks with 4.7 steals and sit at second with 3.7 blocks.

Frontcourt

Through the first 28 games, the Clippers frontcourt were averaging 53.9 points, 32.4 rebounds, 7.9 assists, 5.3 blocks and 5.2 steals per game. Domination at its best!

With All-Star power forward Blake Griffin and athletic defensive stopper DeAndre Jordan, the Clippers have a powerful balance of scoring and rim-defending. Griffin's team-high average of 18.1 points per game proves that they are a force to be reckoned with. Deandre Jordan averages a team-high 1.6 blocks per game to add to their defensive onslaught.

In addition, coming off of the bench, former NBA champions Lamar Odom and Ronny Turiaf provide veteran leadership. Odom has averaged 7.0 rebounds and 0.9 blocks during the Clippers' 14-game winning streak.

With Matt Barnes and Caron Butler providing outstanding defense and Barnes finding his scoring touch, the frontcourt becomes more powerful. Oh yeah and I forgot to mention, Grant Hill hasn’t played a game yet.

The perfect balance, athletic explosiveness and veteran leadership = The perfect recipe for success in my opinion.

Backcourt

So far in the 2012-13 season, the Clippers backcourt is averaging 47.7 points, 15.6 assists, 9.5 rebounds and 5.6 steals per game.

Led by All-NBA point guard Chris Paul and former Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford, the Clippers have the proper balance of facilitating and scoring. They also have defensive tenacity with CP3 and Eric Bledsoe.

With this type of setup, if an opposing defense were to trap Paul, this would usually allow Crawford to find a hole in the perimeter. In that instance, Crawford has the opportunity to take advantage of an opponent with his jump shot or capitalize on his unparalleled handles.

Crawford is shooting 61.6 percent in the restricted area, 37.8 percent from mid-range and 38.1 percent from beyond the arc.

If one decides to trap Crawford, Paul's smooth shooting will be just as lethal. 45.3 percent from mid-range and 39.7 percent from above the break. A TWO-WAY THREAT!

As for running an up-tempo offense to throw them out of rhythm, Paul and Bledsoe are two of the top defenders in the league.

For numerical proof, they rank first and second in the NBA in terms of steals per 48 minutes. Bledsoe is even averaging 0.8 blocks per game as a 6'1" point guard averaging 18.4 minutes a night. These key attributes make The Los Angeles Clippers a serious threat in the NBA.

In conclusion, the Clippers have an all-around dangerous team. Whether we are talking about their offense, defense, frontcourt, or backcourt, Clippers are stacked with talent. It will be interesting to see if they can continue this streak and where they will end up. Only time will tell!