While 5-3 would be a pretty good record for most NBA teams through eight games it is actually a little disappointing for the Los Angeles Clippers.
Last season was also disappointing for the Clippers, as they lost in the Western Conference Semifinals to the Oklahoma City Thunder in six games. That has carried over to this season, which has been a relatively mixed bag for LA.
The Clippers have played a tough schedule thus far, against only Western Conference teams, with meetings against the upstart Kings (loss), Warriors (loss), Trail Blazers (win), Spurs (loss) and Suns (win). Their three other wins came against the lesser teams in the conference.
That may not look bad at all, considering LA has beaten the teams it is supposed to and even some they maybe were not, but expectations are high and fans, players, coaches and front office executives think the Clippers should be one of the best teams in the whole league, not just their division or conference.
One reason they believe that is DeAndre Jordan, the Clippers’ 26-year-old defensive stalwart at the center position. In LA’s Saturday win over the Suns, Doc Rivers called Jordan’s 12-point, 18-rebound, seven-block performance “Picasso-like.” Blake Griffin, the Clippers’ star power forward, also had a big game, scoring 19 points and grabbing eight rebounds.
Jordan has had a great season overall, posting career-highs in field goal percentage (73 percent), free throw shooting (53 percent), blocks (2.8) and steals (1.6). His rebounding and scoring are both a tad down from what they were last season, but I think Doc Rivers can overlook that and be happy that he is making three-quarters of his field goal attempts, which is insane. Plus, it is still early.
Griffin is also having a solid statistical season but there are some aspects of it that have been a little troubling. His scoring is fine but his shooting percentage is less than 50 percent, which would be a career-low at 48 percent if it holds. Also, he is only getting seven rebounds per game, which is a far cry from his career average of 10.1.
It has been a rough start to the 2015 season for Blake Griffin. Photo by Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
Add his recent legal trouble with a possible Las Vegas nightclub assault in October and you get a possibly-injured, possibly-distracted Griffin who has not looked as physically dominating on the court this season as in recent ones.
This means that Jordan’s play is as important as ever for the Clippers and he needs to keep it up if they are to remain a top West contender.
Chris Paul has been great, as usual, so far. But beyond him, Jordan and Griffin, the situation gets a little grim for LA.
Key scorers Jamal Crawford and J.J. Redick are needed to put up points, which they have done but in a very inefficient fashion. Crawford’s field goal percentage is less than 40 percent while Redick’s is just a tick above. Those guys are better shooters than those stats would indicate but they have not been able to show that during the 2014-15 season just yet.
Rivers is going to need his stars to continue playing well on both ends of the floor, but Jordan is needed especially for his defensive efforts. He is a menace at the hoop for opposing players and causes loads of turnovers and generally bad shots with his presence.
The Clippers do not have any other defensive stoppers so he is basically it, and he has to step up and be a master in the paint for the Clippers to achieve their goals.
