Rowan Kavner
CHARLOTTE – Doc Rivers prefers not to bring up injuries to his team when a key player goes down, nor does he want his players doing anything differently.
But even if he’s not talking to his stars about it, Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan know their play becomes even more essential with Blake Griffin down. And once again, they’re finding ways to take their game to another level while the Clippers rack up wins with one of their most dynamic pieces down.
“Losing Blake is a huge void,” Paul said. “We all might have to be a little bit more aggressive…You don’t have to overdo it, but you have to play a little bit harder.”
That hasn’t been a problem for the Clippers.
Two years ago, they went 12-6 when Paul missed 18 games with a shoulder injury. Last year, the Clippers went 9-6 in 15 games Griffin missed after surgery for a staph infection, with Paul and Jordan leading the way.
Paul, who averaged 19.1 points and 10.2 assists per game last season, upped his averages to 21.3 points and 13 assists per game when Griffin was out for his 15 games last year. Jordan, who averaged 11.5 points and 15 rebounds per game last season, averaged 14.9 points and 18.5 rebounds per game with Griffin out during that stretch.
Jamal Crawford, who called Jordan’s numbers during that stretch “Herculean,” played his part as well by scoring at least 20 points each of the first five games Griffin went down.
“We’ve had significant guys over the past years miss time,” Crawford said. “Chris missed six weeks, I missed probably five or six weeks, Blake missed three or four weeks. We figured out within the system and how we play, no one guy be the hero.”
The Clippers’ main offensive threats are just as vital this year with Griffin down with a partially torn quad tendon, and once again they’re answering. Whether it’s playing harder or just being cognizant of the need to attack more, Paul’s averaging 3.1 more points per game and Jordan’s averaging 3.3 more points per game than their respective season averages since Griffin’s been out.
“I’ve got to step up, because I’m part of the frontcourt,” Jordan said. “With him out, it’s going to be less scoring, less rebounding, less of a defensive impact…A lot of the onus is on me. I want to be able to contribute even more when a guy like that is out.”
And he is.
Jordan’s rebound percentage is up 4.3 percentage points from his season average. If a rebound’s available, he’s plucking it down. Meanwhile, Paul’s assist percentage is up 4.2 percentage points since Griffin went out, and both player’s usage percentages are up at least four percentage points apiece.
“We hate to have Blake out,” Jordan said. “You can’t replace Blake…But that’s why we’re so deep, because we’ve got to have guys who can step up and play when needed and try to hold down the fort.”
Jordan and Paul increased their production the last two games despite both players getting fewer than 30 minutes in their most recent game in Washington, D.C., the result of not only Paul and Jordan thriving but the rest of the team’s contributors, as well.
Paul Pierce is starting to find his shot at the right time and continues to get good looks from outside. Cole Aldrich’s taken advantage of getting added into the rotation, posting a season-high 13 points against the Wizards. Crawford added 21 points against the Wizards on 75 percent shooting.
J.J. Redick couldn’t miss down the stretch in Utah, scoring 25 points when the Clippers needed it most, and Wesley Johnson has at least nine points each of the last two games.
More so than what they’re doing on the stat sheet, Rivers said what Paul and Jordan need to do with Griffin out is lead. They appear to be doing just fine on that front, as their strong play seems to be rubbing off.
Both Rivers and Crawford said when a player of Griffin’s caliber goes down, the Clippers can’t rely on just one or two players to chip in. They’re all playing their part, and two straight wins have followed.