The Los Angeles Clippers and Improvement From Within

via adrian8_8 on Flickr

The Los Angeles Clippers played back to back nationally televised games on Wednesday and Thursday night and made a statement in doing so.  It wasn't so much that they won both games, or that they won handily against a very good San Antonio Spurs team that had rolled right through them in the playoffs last year.  What was impressive about these two wins, and what may force us to rethink this team, was the play of their supporting cast, in particular their youngsters: Eric Bledsoe and DeAndre Jordan.

I want to start with DeAndre mainly because I don't really think his play in those two games is sustainable, and that's not to say that DeAndre can't be a major contributing factor to this team getting to the next level.  In Wednesday night's game he had a good matchup against Tim Duncan.  His athletic advantage was just too much for Duncan to overcome.  He had 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots on 10 of 12 shooting.  Nine of those makes were at the rim and/or dunks.  The next night in Portland he had 21 points and 8 rebounds, only 1 blocked shot, but was a surprising 5-7 from the free throw line.  Again, only one of his makes was from outside of 4 feet. 

This is what DeAndre's offensive game should be: field goal attempts at the rim.  The typical training camp optimistic stories have come out about DeAndre working on his post game, and there is no doubt he does look more comfortable in that position, but that is still not where DeAndre should be generating his offense from.  He should be offensive rebounding, getting put backs, and getting dunks either in the pick n roll or when the playmakers on this team set him up. 

Really though DeAndre's offense is all gravy.  It would help for him to be able to convert free throws at a rate acceptable enough to keep him on the floor late in close games.  Outside of that, his rebounding and defense is essential.  The Clippers were an above average rebounding team last season, but in the playoffs they were forced to play the one trick pony Reggie Evans much more than they should have been in order to stay competitive on the boards against good teams.  Without that Evans crutch this year, this team is very thin up front and DeAndre has to be able to fill that role consistently this season.  He also needs to be a compliment to Blake Griffin on defense.  Both of them need to improve defensively, but DeAndre has the skill set to become an elite defender where Blake will always be undersized.

The other half of this teams internal development is their young point guard Eric Bledsoe.  Bledsoe's play in my mind has been much more sustainable than DeAndre's so far.  The problem here is that Vinny Del Negro is struggling to find ways to get Bledsoe on the court.  The Clippers brought in Jamal Crawford to be an effective bench scorer for them.  Crawford has been brilliant, but the Clippers have been starting and giving almost 20 minutes a game to Willie Green.  When Chauncey Billups comes back he will eat even more of these minutes.  Bledsoe played only 14 minutes against the Blazers Thursday night.  He shot 3-4, scored 8 points and had two rebounds, an assist, and a steal.  On Wednesday night, in 22 minutes he had 15 points and 5 assists. 

For Bledsoe, though, the numbers do not do his play justice.  His ball pressure and defensive intensity rivals that of Chris Paul.  His aggressiveness and passing ability seems to have improved.  He is a true change of pace from Chris Paul.  His jump shot, while still inconsistent, is showing flashes of improvement and he can compromise opposing defenses with penetration at will.  Bledsoe needs to be on the floor more, and that falls on Vinny Del Negro.

The problem, as I see it here. is that I would rather rely on Bledsoe's improvement than DeAndre, but the roster is constructed in such a way that DeAndre will be more valuable.  While Blake Griffin continues to get the brunt of the criticism when this team underperforms it is the supporting cast that will take this team to another level.  DeAndre's defense, Bledsoe's minutes, the addition of Jamal Crawford and a healthy Caron Butler.  I'm not sold on this team yet, because they still strike me as very inconsistent, but I'm certainly taking notice and will be watching them closely as the season progresses.