The Clippers' Bench: Misfits or holding their own? [OC]
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As with every remaining team in the playoffs the LA Clippers playoff run depends on its core starters delivering and its bench stepping up when necessary. Thus far their second round series vs the Houston Rockets has lacked the intensity of the Clippers’ first round match-up versus San Antonio but still had its moments not withstanding last night’s free throw extravaganza and Monday’s early white flag from the Rockets. But watching James Harden search for the chip on his shoulder for six and a half quarters before finding it at the bottom of the third in game two wasn’t exactly riveting either. The loss in the MVP race, the six day break after round one or the shock of a Clippers side without Paul showing some venom in the series opener could have knocked him out of his rhythm. If none of that tickles your fancy, Blake Griffin's performance might; he joined some historical names in the back to back playoff triple-double club in game one and had a monster first half in game two.
Elsewhere on the court J.J. Redick is still struggling with his playoff rhythm, although Paul’s absence probably has more than a little to do with that. And it's not possible to talk about this series without mentioning the spectacular aerial battle taking place between Deandre Jordan and Dwight Howard with blocks and alley-oops (Griffin makes some cameos here too) being delivered in a seemingly endless supply. What happens when Godzilla fights Godzilla? If the writers of the SyFy channel aren't taking notes, they should be.
It’s well documented that the Clippers bench is about as deep as a WalMart foot spa but it has some key pieces vital to its success who have stepped up at various moments so far and helped get them where they are, stealing a game from Houston on the road, sans Chris Paul. And although it didn’t work out, how close they kept last night’s game should vindicate River choice of keeping Paul out. Despite losing their playbook shortly after half time (aside from Barnes and Jordan going clay pigeon shooting late in the fourth) at least they didn’t give up with two minutes to go.
Of those bench players who have stepped up, Jamal Crawford is the most important, he’s the primary ball handler when Paul is out or off the floor. He can create his own shot as well as for others, drive in the paint, is useful on the fast break, and if he gets hot, can rain threes over most defenders. There’s an ‘if’ there though. Last night his shooting resembled that of a chucker, a volume shooter going 1 of 8 from beyond the arc, taking shots when they weren't there. Although a lot of the time it looked like he wasn’t sure what else to do. The funny thing is he only stopped shooting them after he made one early in the fourth, it was like he just wanted to check he could still hit one. Despite that abysmal long range effort, he put the work in the paint and continued to muddle defenders with his pseudo circus shots that have defenders alternately mistaking him for the Vitruvian man and a Hindu deity.
Next up is Austin Rivers, who if he weren't a 22 year old millionaire sports player, I’d feel sorry for at times. Not a terrible player but certainly not reliable or consistent, he gets a harder time than he deserves due to the whole apparent nepotism and college hype. Without getting sidetracked too much, every player has their moments of stupidity, Rivers', unfortunately for him, attract that much more attention. After last night's turnover with forty seconds remaining in the fourth quarter with the Clippers 4 points behind, Deadspin ran with the headline “Austin Rivers did it again” which, depending on who else's name you replaced his with, could sound like a positive headline. Anyway apart from the unwanted publicity, underwhelming stat sheets and error laden moves, public enemy number one has his moments; hitting a 28 point career high in a February victory over the Kings, coming up big in game 4 of the Spurs series with 16 points and one upping that with 17 in game one versus the Rockets. Even last night he had a few moves in the paint which left the Rockets defense eating dust. Rivers does have potential to develop into something more stable, but that will only come with more experience and maturity. More urgently for the Clippers and Austin himself right now is he needs to show a glimpse of that consistency off the bench when Paul returns and ease off on the gambles and fancy dribbles.
The third part of this misfit trifecta is none other than Glen ‘Big Baby’ Davis whose numbers won’t give much away but is a representative for the unathletic athletic guys around the world, along with Zach Randolph and Boris Diaw. He comes up with plays at crucial moments and provides energy off the bench, even attempting to get airborne himself on occasion (and arguably putting Harden off this three attempt.)
The main issue with Davis though is that he’s not DeAndre and just can’t provide anywhere near the same level of coverage in the paint. In fact when both Howard and Jordan are off the court, the two games in this series have almost resembled a soccer match without goalkeepers.
Aside from these three there’s not much more to the Clip’s bench, although two time Chinese Basketball Association MVP Lester Hudson had a few moments in last night’s game including a steal, a couple of baskets and an assist or two.
Turkoglu is the only body to see much time after that and doesn’t offer much beyond the odd three. The ghost of Spencer Hawes and a few others have been seen haunting the Clippers' bench.
When you take all of this into account I don’t think there’s much cause for concern about the Clippers' depth. Granted if they lose Paul or Griffin for the playoffs for more than a game or two, they’re done, but the same can be said of any of the remaining eight teams without their star players. And although Crawford and River’s stumbled last night, they also played big in Game One and helped Griffin steal a W on the road. Advantage Clips.
T.P. Stockton
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Posted May 7, 2015, 4:32 PM UTC · edited