Last Week:5↓
2023-24 record: 51-31
OffRtg: 117.9 (4) DefRtg: 114.6 (16) NetRtg: +3.4 (7) Pace: 97.9 (20)
Key addition(s): Derrick Jones Jr., Kris Dunn, Nicolas Batum
Key departure(s): Paul George, Russell Westbrook, Mason Plumlee
Three numbers to know:
According to Second Spectrum tracking, the Clippers ranked last in both ball movement (289 passes per 24 minutes of possession) and player movement (10.6 miles traveled per 24 minutes of possession). They ranked last in the percentage of their 3-point attempts that came off the catch (61%) and the percent that were wide open (42%).
Over their five years together, the Clippers were 31-19 (.620) in games (including playoffs) that Kawhi Leonard played without George. They were 52-42 (.553) in games that George played without Leonard.
Terance Mann shot 175-for-263 (66.5%) in the paint, the best mark among 216 players 6-foot-8 or shorter with at least 100 attempts.
Key question: Can they play top 10 defense again?
The Clippers have had top-10 defenses in each of the first three seasons with George and Leonard, even though the two stars played 31 and zero, respectively, in that third season (2021-22). But they’ve been middle-of-the-pack – 17th and 16th, defensively – in each of the past two seasons.
George is an elite defender, but Batum, Dunn, and Jones can all chip in on the Clips on that end of the floor. The offense very well may take a step backward; the Clippers scored just 113.3 points per 100 possessions – and were outscored by 3.1 per 100 – in 357 minutes with Leonard and James Harden on the floor without George last season. But if the defense can get back to the top 10, this team will still be a tough out.
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