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THE NEW L.O.B. CITY

Lob City.

That may have been the Clippers’ old nickname, but it could stand for a new meaning. For a team that wants to be known as a dominating defensive unit, it seems only fitting that Clippers’ new nickname should be the New L.O.B. City. 

By that, I mean they should look to become the NBA version of the Seattle Seahawks’ “Legion of Boom” (L.O.B.). If you watched any of the Super Bowl last Sunday, you saw just how relentless Seattle’s defense was in stopping the most potent offense in NFL history. You not only saw a hard-hitting defense, but you saw a team having fun and taking pride in what they did. Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, the vocal leader of the defense and one of the NFL’s best defenders, said after the game that his team was able to intimidate the Broncos. They imposed their will on their opponent, and the results were evident.

The Clippers’ defense has the potential to do the same. More importantly, they have a budding, young defensive superstar in DeAndre Jordan who is capable of being the vocal and physical leader this team needs to make a championship run.

When Rivers arrived to the Clippers, he said that Jordan was talented enough to win the NBA’s defensive player of the year award. So far this season, Jordan has proven he’s up to the challenge. The sixth-year center has seen his game evolve under the tutelage of Rivers. He has become a stalwart defender for the Clippers; a force to be reckoned with on a nightly basis.

Jordan currently leads the league in rebounds per game at 14.0. Not bad for a guy who averaged only 7.2 last season while playing all 82 games. He already has five games this season with at least 20 rebounds. What’s scarier is that he could have had more. Much more. Jordan has had 11 other games where he’s grabbed between 17-19 rebounds. He currently has 29 straight games with double-digit rebounds, a Los Angeles Clippers record. But he’s proven to be more than just a dependable rebounder. Jordan is also averaging 2.3 blocks per game, a career high and good for fourth best in the league.

So if defense is what Rivers wants from this team, he’s got the roster and talent to get the job done. With the evolution of Jordan’s game and his emergence into a defensive leader, there’s no telling how great this Clippers defense can be down the road. It is time for the new Lob City to take the league by storm.