(All stats and records through Jan. 14; for report cards for all 30 teams click here.)
Offense: 106.9, 9th Overall
Defense: 106.4, 19th Overall
W-L | Pct. | GB
21-21 | .500 | 13.0
Conf.: 15-13
Div.: 10-2
Home: 12-9
Road: 9-12
FRONTCOURT: B
This is Blake Griffin’s time to show he can carry a club, and the early returns are just OK. His numbers, especially rebounding, are down from his peak seasons yet his shooting range is much better. DeAndre Jordan remains the league’s most dependable rebounder (14 per game) and ace defender, but without Chris Paul, the lob passes are fewer. Danilo Gallinari is a better small forward than the Clippers have had, which isn’t saying much.
BACKCOURT: C
Given the loss of Paul and what he meant in terms of leadership and clutch-ability, the Clippers haven’t suffered as badly as expected, aside from the injuries of course. Austin Rivers has never been better and Patrick Beverley remembered to bring his usual toughness and edge. Milos Teodosic is entertaining off the dribble. Still, none are star-quality or have the aura of Paul.
BENCH: C
This hard-working crew is led by the Sixth Man Award leader at the moment. Lou Williams has a 50-point game and plenty of other impact minutes for the Clippers and is this team’s biggest surprise. Montrezl Harrell is a lunch-pail player who’s probably not more than a role player, and perhaps the surprise of the season, CJ Williams, brings good depth to the backcourt. The bench has been an issue under Doc Rivers; not this season.
DEFENSE: B
Jordan still rates as an imposing presence under the rim and consistently bails out his teammates when necessary. Before he pulled up lame, Beverley once again was his aggressive self, pressuring ball-handlers and forcing them into bad decisions. In fact, the defense has bailed out the Clippers when the rash of injuries hit.
COACHING: B+
Doc Rivers surrendered the personnel duties last summer, and he’s doing one of his better coaching jobs in his career. Just to keep the Clippers competitive after losing Paul and dealing with injuries is enough. But when you also consider the Clippers have at least five new players in the rotation at any night (depending on the injury count) it looks even more impressive. The only question is whether Rivers wants to stick around when his deal runs out in a few years.
OVERALL GRADE: C+
The Clippers find themselves in a strange world in this, their new era. They still have a pair of players who rank among the best at their position and a batch of capable role players and a solid coach, but bad luck and injuries are standing in the way of real progress. With the exception of Lou Williams, their top five players have missed time. So we won’t know who the Clippers are until the medical list is empty. When that happens, expect the Clippers to be strong contenders for one of the final playoff spots, given how well they’ve managed to keep their season alive when the injuries hit. Yes, there will be plenty of questions that can’t be answered until summer (DeAndre re-signing) but until now, a playoff berth should be considered a victory for this team.
Veteran NBA writer Shaun Powell has worked for newspapers and other publications for more than 25 years. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.
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