State of the Clippers Franchise 2014-15

As I have done in the past, around the time of the all-star game, I will put together my thoughts on where the team and franchise is. So here we go again for 2015.

At present, the Clippers have the 8th best record in the NBA and 6th best in the west. Our record this year is .64 as compared to .69 last year. That is about two wins worse than last year to this point. Not a big difference, but an important one for a couple reasons. First, we have been much healthier this season than last when JJ missed more than half the season. As a result, our best ball was ahead of us as we approached the playoffs. That is not the case this year. We do not appear to be getting better and there doesn't seem to be anything brewing to suggest that better play is around the corner.

Second, some of our competitors are much better than they were last year, which does not bode well for us as we approach the playoffs. Many teams have chosen to rebuild and jettison contracts. As a result, the good teams are better and the bad teams are worse. We are one of the few good teams that has not gotten better. Making it through the playoffs this year will be tougher than last year.

The main problem is our defense. Of our primary players, only DJ, Barnes and Chris Paul could be categorized as good defenders. Austin Rivers is making a believer out of me that he is also a good defender. Griffin and JJ are marginal. Crawford and Hawes are poor. Our team defense is dreadful and was in full evidence last night when Toronto got off to a cold start and still had 94 points at the end of the third quarter.

How did that happen? Our defenders can't seem to keep people out of the paint. As a result, we have to help way too much, leaving people wide open on the perimeter. Toronto shot 53% for the game and 43% from three. Unfortunately, this is not an aberration.

If Lawrence Frank is our defensive guru, I think we need a new guru. You don't need 10 great individual defenders to be a good defensive team, but you do need a defensive scheme that works and a big commitment from the players. Both seem to be missing.

We have a big three in Blake, Paul and DJ. With the exception of DJ's foul shooting, they have all been tremendous assets for us. I know some complain about Blake and Paul, but if those guys are our problems, we have nothing to talk about because this season, and future seasons, are lost. Those guys are our strength. DJ is leading the league in rebounding. Blake is 10th in scoring. Paul is 3rd in assists.

But they alone are not enough and you can see them wearing down as the season progresses. It is not through lack of effort as some have suggested. These guys are just gassed and letdowns are inevitable when players are tired.

So, what can we do? First, Doc needs to go deeper into the bench regardless of how much it hurts at times. Forget jockeying for a top spot. We need to get better. We need a new discovery.

Then, what tradable assets to we have? Most of our first round picks are already gone. Blake, Paul and DJ aren't going anywhere. That leaves Hawes, JJ, Barnes and Crawford as players some other teams might covet. What can be made from them? Who knows? We have a thread for that, so I won't go into it here.

So, what are we in reality? A team that is not much of a threat to win a championship, but at the same time, we are a dangerous team; one that can knock a better team out of the playoff hunt. That could make us fun come playoff time, but ultimately, we are not where we want to be. We are unlikely to get through three rounds against top teams to make it to the finals.

We may be able to add a veteran or two as the season winds down and hope that this year's Danny Granger helps us more than last year's Danny Granger. Doc may have a big move up his sleeve, but big moves often do more harm than good in the short term as new players take time to learn the system and each other.

More likely, we will continue to meander through the rest of the season, playing well at times and poorly at others in hope of a miracle or resurgence during the playoffs. And, if worse comes to worse, I can live with that. As a Clipper fan since they first moved to LA, I can live with that very well.

I like it,Sam.

Keep cool and Fight On!

Thank you man. Realizing that we aren't world beaters and that's ok BC these are still the golden years compared to the last 2 decades. No reason to think all or nothing as we're trying to build something. We just got started being relevant, not good but relevant in the NBA, so at least maintaining at this point is an achievement. They franchise is trying to get better but trying involves failing and picking itself back up, correcting it's mistakes and moving on. Not looking at the past and all the should of would of could of's and damning the future bc of it. Good on you Sam

See what what happens when you take a deep breath, pause a little. Well rounded thoughts usually emerge.

Being critical and thoughtful can coincide. Nice Sam.

Sam, repped. Well thought out.

And strange things have happened in sports. Can any of you remember Buster Douglas?

I can't accept Blake being "gassed" as a reason for his regression. LeBron, Carmelo, Aldridge and Bosh all play as many if not more minutes than him and they all have much more mileage on their clocks. He is a 25-year-old physical freak, yet he has deferred to his own jumpshot just like those guys who are over 30 and now looking to prolong their careers after previously having been much more physical players. His scoring efficiency is a shadow of what it once was - despite great improvement at the FT line - and he is defending and rebounding at career-low levels. Some of that falls on Doc, of course - he prioritizes getting back on defense over offensive rebounds, and he has let go some of our better wing defenders which leaves the bigs open when opposing guards drive and dish - but many decisions are made split-second, in-game, BY Blake... and I just don't feel that he's the best decision-maker. When he only had one reliable tool in his kit, he used that tool because he didn't have a choice. And Doc's schemes or DJ's rebounding prowess can't be blamed for him grabbing 1.4 fewer DEFENSIVE rebounds than last year, because both those factors were in place last year. The conventional wisdom to beating the Clippers was always "make Griffin a jumpshooter"... and that hasn't changed. It's just that now, he appears to WANT to be a jumpshooter, making opposing coaches' jobs that much easier. If not, he's "facilitating" from the top of the key - which is great when CP3 is injured - but when you relegate the best floor-general in the game to being a perimeter shooter, you're playing into your opponents' hands. I'd be very interested to see our record when Blake has 25+ points and <4 assists....

Down goes Iron Mike

Down goes USC California were a handful on the hardwood

I think that ESPN and the NBA has become sensationalized and we are always waiting for a stimulus... Some kind of winning streak, some great play, some great stats, some poor choice of words or actions... bulletins. Material to capitalize off of. And the Clippers have not given the media much.

We are here freaking out, because we are not playing great and we have nothing else to react to.

The truth is that we are not playing poorly, and we will be just fine.

In the NBA, you play to get into the playoffs and then you change gears. We are nervous because our opponents have gotten a whole lot better and are gathering all the headlines. In which case, we are going about our business slow and steady. That's OK... we do not have a lot to be grateful for, but we are in the race and can only hope some kinks get ironed out.

But as someone mentioned, we are still in our glory days... we are competitive in a stacked conference... who cares if we don't have big ups and downs.

I stopped watching SC basketball for the most part and I can't see them much without the PAc-12 channel. When the NBA went on strike I went to a number of games and prior to that maybe 2 or 3 a season but really the pageantry is more fun then what actually happens on the court. I am a football dude.

I think Griffin is quite a bit different than Lebron, Aldridge, Carmelo and Bosh. He is a much more physical post player than either Bosh or Aldridge, attacks the rim much harder, is fouled much harder and has to work much harder for position. None of those players even come close to hitting the ground as much as Griffin or taking the number of hard fouls.

I've watched a lot of basketball and I've never seen anyone who plays any harder than Blake, takes more hard fouls or attacks the rim with nearly the fury. Not even Lebron, who plays facing the basket and so avoids the pounding post players take.

Add to this, the Clippers style of play where Doc allows quick jump shots. Many times, Blake runs down the court only to see Crawford or JJ miss a three and have to turn and sprint back in the other direction.

Nobody in the NBA expends more energy playing the game than Blake and it shows.

That's cool and all but in reality the window on the CP3 and Blake tandem is getting close to closing. And if these two can't get past the 2nd round that's going to be a really really tough pill to swallow. We can't keep bring up how we were 'paper bag' status as a franchise years ago and be happy and content. But we have to take that leap now while this window is still slightly open. Maybe this isn't an issue if we had LA all to ourselves but going up against the Laker stronghold has also taken its toll on us over the years as well so I get the frustration by others. Yes I'm happy that we're heading into the right direction but we've taken so many steps backward that we're undermining all that we have built over the last few years. Yes I'm looking at Doc but I'm not going to harp on that. Our time is right now! Hopefully we can add a piece or two and make a strong playoff push

I hear you, but making that next step from contender to champion is a very, very difficult one. Look at Utah in the 90's. Never made it. OKC has been at the top longer than us and haven't been able to win the ultimate prize. Memphis, Chicago and a few other teams are also in the same boat we are. Golden State now. Once Kareem left Milwaukee, they had a very good team for eight years, but never won another championship.

I'm not saying we shouldn't try to figure out how to cross that final bridge, just that it's hard.

In the mean time, we need to enjoy this period, live in a moment rather than spend our time projecting forward and ruin it for ourselves with frustration in the fact that we aren't quite good enough.

Spot on Sam. What's the point of being a fan if you're not enjoying it? We enjoyed it when we were at the bottom, let's still enjoy it now and not spoil it bc we aren't the obvious front runner. We're in the conversation every year, and hopefully we'll be in the playoffs fighting for the title every year too. And when we drop back down and need to rebuild, we as fans should still enjoy that time, as long as we don't pull a 76ers move and tank year after year.

When life gives you lemons you make lemonade, and then you enjoy the lemonade. You don't say, this is bulls**t, I want the best lemonade in the world.

I'm not even talking about championships. I'm talking about getting out of the 2nd round and at least making the WCF. First things first with me. Maybe the only team I can think of that is in the same boat is Golden State but they're actually improving from top to bottom. OKC made it to the finals a few years ago. How can you mention Chicago who won all the time with Mike Jordan? Memphis is still new and the Bucks are a couple of years away but I'm loving the direction and youth they have. But I just want to see a deep playoff run first. The media at the start of the season had us pegged for the finals not me even though I definitely want to see that happen. I'm kinda frustrated cause we have no history of making it past the 2nd round. If we had that type of history then I'm sure fans would back off a bit.

With Chicago, I am talking recent history, of course. And improvement, once you have gone over the cap, if very difficult whether is means a championship or just an extra three wins and maybe a better playoff performance. There is no formula for that. Good players leave for more money.

The main reason San Antonio is a perennial is not Popovich as a coach, as great as he is. It's Duncan, Ginobili and Parker taking significantly less than value contracts so they have more money to spend on a bench. Most teams don't have guys that will do that.

One of the things I think we do wrong is get rid of youth in favor of old guys on the bench. I am watching the OKC game as I write this and you can see a big difference. OKC is bringing in empowered younger players who are hungry and fast. We are bringing in old, slow veterans who have nothing to add. When we used younger players, they are not empowered; albeit perhaps because they lacked the talent. Wlicox and Bullock, when they did play, played scared.

BTW...where has Ballmer disappeared to? I hope he isn't planning on moving the team cos he is def MIA.

Yep, that's what he doing right now, hiding in some large hidden office wringing his hands and going...Hee Hee Hee, where should I take my team to from the largest market place.

People expecting him to turn into Jimmy Goldstein!

Yeah,teams move when they don't get what they want where they are located, and they don't make money where they are. Clips get what they want (they are in a really really nice arena) and make money (but* load of sell outs). Moving would be really stupid for the fact it would get you nothing.

He does have a day job and he could be back home watching his son play BB.

I figured I'd give y'all more to worry about cos you don't have enough right now! LOL!