OKC Thunder vs. West Powers: Part 4 – The Clippers
On Friday, I looked at how the Oklahoma City Thunder matched up with the always tough Memphis Grizzlies. While that was a rather easy preview given the Grizzlies quiet offseason, today’s post is much tougher as I break down how the Thunder stack up with the Los Angeles Clippers.
Last year, the Clippers went 56-26 in the regular season. They appeared ready to head to the Western Conference Finals before being on the wrong end of one of the worst collapses in NBA history.
Following another playoff shortcoming, the Clippers had the loudest offseason of any team in the league. Not only did they manage to lure DeAndre Jordan back to Los Angeles at the eleventh hour, but they also added Lance Stephenson, Josh Smith, Pablo Prigioni and Paul Pierce to their already talented roster.
In return, they just lost Matt Barnes (now with Memphis), Hedo Turkoglu, Glen Davis, Jordan Farmar and the seldom-used, under-performing Spencer Hawes.
More than any other team in the league, the Clippers will be the biggest mystery heading into the new season. On paper, they’ve assembled quite the roster, but how this roster gels together – if they gel at all – is anyone’s guess.
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Chris Paul will continue to run the offense and Blake Griffin will be his main partner in crime, but after that things get a little murky.
Jordan was promised a bigger role in the offense, but he’s not a proven back to the basket low-post scorer. Pierce is an upgrade over Barnes, especially on the offensive end, Stephenson gives them a ball handler off the bench, which should take some pressure off of CP3, and Smith allows them to space the floor better.
The question is, will it all work?
Jamal Crawford, usually the spark off the bench for the Clippers, has already expressed his concern and things could only get worse as the season rolls along. He’s not happy with what will likely be a diminished role and there’s a good chance he gets moved at some point soon:
"@ThatGuy_Sammie: @JCrossover sooo you gonna stay a clipper or join the cavs? ��"-I'm not a f/a, wish but I'm not.. Soo u gotta ask Doc.....
— 🏁 Jamal Crawford (@JCrossover) July 17, 2015
How happy will DeAndre be if that bigger role never comes to fruition? Can three alpha personalities with a history of being temperamental (Paul, Pierce, and Stephenson) co-exist? Does Smith really fit in at all?
Best case scenario for the Clippers: Jordan excels and becomes a dominant post scorer. Doc Rivers surrounds him with Paul, Redick, Pierce, and Smith and forces the OKC Thunder to decide whether or not they want to live with Jordan going to work in the post or double, allowing him to kick it out to a wide-open shooter. Paul continues to masterfully run the first team offense, getting Redick and Pierce easy shots while throwing lobs to Blake and DeAndre. Meanwhile, Stephenson regains his Pacers form as a triple-double threat, taking control of the second team and letting Crawford and Smith let it fly from wherever they want.
In this scenario, they have the depth and talent to match the Thunder in all areas. They can play big or go small. They have plenty of guys who can create their own shot and they can move the ball to exploit mismatches. They become arguably the most dangerous team in the West.
Worst case scenario: All of these personalities clash. Paul starts barking at everyone and they don’t respond kindly. Jordan sulks and feels betrayed. Crawford, Smith, and Lance take ill-advised shot after ill-advised shot. Pierce continues to decline and Doc Rivers doesn’t have the heart to sit him. Blake keeps making bad commercials.
In this scenario, they still have the talent to beat many teams, but they’re front-runners. Remember that 131-108 victory by the Thunder last year where Durant was all, “scoreboard, bro” to Paul? That’s the Clippers fate in this scenario. They fall apart as Russell Westbrook is frustrating Paul, Kevin Durant is torching whoever they throw at him, and the quartet of Serge Ibaka, Enes Kanter, Mitch McGary, and Steven Adams are grabbing every rebound in sight.
The Clippers are going to be a tough team to beat this upcoming season. Whether or not they’re going to be an elite team remains to be seen.