It’s official: Doc Rivers is now the new head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers.It’s no secret that former Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro had his fair share of doubters, including his own players. But regardless of his doubters, he led the Clippers to a 56-26 record this year and the fourth overall seed in the Western Conference.
So now that the Clippers have an elite coach, are they serious contenders to for the NBA Title?
If I was asked this question right now, my answer would be no.
An elite coach cannot win an NBA Title without an elite roster, and the current Clippers roster is far from elite. LA still lacks a stretch forward that can open up paint for Blake Griffin, they still lack consistent three-point shooting and they still lack a big man who can really defend.
The Clippers roster has talent, there is no arguing that, but the talent doesn’t necessarily mesh well together.
Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan are two of the most athletically gifted big men the NBA has ever seen, but neither of them has a real post game or any kind of a mid-range jump shot. When both Griffin and Jordan are on the court together, the lane is constantly clogged.
Defenders don’t respect their outside games at all, so they are constantly in help position which makes working in the post twice as hard. Until they can find a big man who can get spread the floor and open up the lane, the Clippers bigs are going to struggle to score in the post.
Another reason the lane seems to always be clogged for the Clippers is that, as a team, they struggle to shoot the trey ball. LA shot 36-percent from the three-point line this season, which ranked 15th in the league.
Until they find more consistent perimeter shooting, they are going to struggle in the playoffs where fast break opportunities are significantly decreased. The Clippers excel on the fast break, which is why they averaged 101.1 points per game during the regular season. Compare that to the playoffs where they only averaged 94.6 points per game.
The Memphis Grizzlies exposed the Clippers' lack of interior post defense in the playoffs this year. While Jordan and Griffin are athletic bigs that block shots, they can’t stop skilled big men. In their playoff series against the Grizzlies, LA allowed Zach Randolph to score 21 points per game and Marc Gasol to score 17.3 points per game.
Until Griffin and Jordan develop into better post defenders, teams are going to continue go straight to the post and pound the ball inside.
The Clippers will definitely be a better, most disciplined team under Rivers than they were this season under Del Negro. However, with their current roster, the Clippers aren’t good enough to seriously contend for an NBA championship.
With a few roster moves, this conversation will be completely different, but right now, the Clippers are not an elite NBA team.
[Mike Lucas Sports]
