This article is part of our NBA Team Previews series.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
By Jonathan Dintzer
RotoWire Writer
STATE OF THE FRANCHISE
Coming into last year, the Clippers appeared poised to make a run at a Western Conference playoff spot. The acquisitions of veteran players Baron Davis and Marcus Camby gave coach Mike Dunleavy a nice balance to go along with talented youngsters Al Thornton and Eric Gordon. But injuries and a fragile team chemistry derailed Los Angeles' season seemingly before it ever got off the ground. Not all was lost in the miserable 19-win campaign however, as Gordon and Thornton established themselves as up-and-coming stars in the league while the Clippers did just poorly enough on the court to lock up the top pick in June's draft, securing the services of Blake Griffin.
Welcoming last year's national college player of the year has allowed Los Angeles to part with mid-season acquisition Zach Randolph, giving Dunleavy one less excuse to play the plodding, slowdown style which restricted the talents of his leading man in Davis. In his first year since coming over from Golden State, Davis clashed with Dunleavy about the tempo that the team employed, but with the starting lineup now littered with young, athletic finishers, it's hard to imagine those conflicts continuing at the same rate in 2009-10. We'll let them show it on the court before anointing the squad a true threat, but there's no doubt on paper this is once again a playoff-caliber group.
PLAYING TIME DISTRIBUTION
We have to assume everyone will remain healthy here which clearly was not the case a year ago, but reports out of Los Angeles put Davis in great physical condition coming off a season where he played poorly. Going into his 11th campaign, Davis may only be 30 years old, but there's a lot of tread on those tires, so Clipper nation should be happy with 35 minutes per game out of the veteran. The addition of a solid backup in Sebastian Telfair should help keep the minutes down, but also allow for Davis to play off the ball more than he did a season ago. Telfair is strictly a lead guard and will play about 20 minutes a night, a number significantly down from his last two years in Minnesota. Gordon had a tremendous rookie season a year ago and looks to be ready to play around 36-38 minutes a night. Ricky Davis and Mardy Collins will be the reserve backcourt members of this team and shouldn't see more than five minutes a night between the two of them. In the frontcourt, Thornton, who has a knack for playing less than stellar defense, now must look over his shoulder a bit as the Clippers have brought in veteran sharpshooter Rasual Butler. Thornton should see about 33 minutes a night while Butler will get the remaining 15 at the 3-spot while possibly also taking those five allotted to Ricky Davis and Collins at shooting guard. There's a bit of a logjam inside as five capable guys vie for two spots. Griffin should get at least 25-28 minutes a night with Craig Smith and DeAndre Jordan fighting it out for 15 minutes of playing time at power forward. Camby and Chris Kaman, who will be on the floor at the same time depending upon matchups, will each get about 28 minutes of action per game at center.
PLAYER OUTLOOKS
Center
Marcus Camby: The topic of much discussion this summer as a possible trading chip, Camby remains a Clipper and looks to be an integral piece to the puzzle with so many young and defensively challenged teammates serving vital roles on the team. When healthy, the veteran is still one of the best defenders in the entire league, though his scoring and rebounding outputs this year may not be up to their usual totals due to the firepower which surrounds him on this squad.
Chris Kaman: Considering Camby has missed fewer than 10 games due to injury just once in 13 years in the NBA, expect Kaman to get his fair share of time on the court once again. Last year was basically lost to injury, which is a shame because Kaman was coming off career-best numbers from 2007-08 where he put up 16 points and 13 boards a night. On a soft team, Kaman is a tough guy, and that should be his mentality every time he gets on the floor. Like Camby, this team doesn't need him to score a ton, but his court presence and double-double potential will be a welcome sight.
Forward
Al Thornton: Always a fantastic athlete, Thornton's game blossomed last year as the second-year pro developed a knock-down jumper from 20-feet. With his ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the rim whenever he wants, refining this area of his game pushed him from a nice NBA talent to a guy on the verge of becoming a star. He still needs a bunch of work defensively, but there's no reason to think his offensive stats won't continue to climb.
Blake Griffin: Griffin's ability to muscle interior defenders to the basket and score over them using his athleticism won't fly all the time in the NBA, but his rebounding skills and ball handling should allow him to carve out a very nice rookie season. His greatest attributes at this point are his work ethic and that natural leaping ability, but those things have a tendency to impact production on the defensive end before all the skills catch up on offense.
Rasual Butler: The Clippers were 23rd in the NBA a season ago in three-point shooting percentage, so acquiring a guy who has proven he can knock down a perimeter shot with regularity made giving up a 2016 draft pick for Butler a no-brainer. Butler is also a solid defender and brings a tough attitude with him to Los Angeles, something that's been missing at the wing positions for the Clippers in recent years.
Craig Smith: While Butler can provide some tenacity at the 3-spot, Smith has no choice with that body but to provide toughness inside. The LA native has been overlooked his entire basketball life but simply continues to produce. Now there's the challenge of being in a rotation behind the top pick in this year's draft, but don't bet against the burly power forward. He'll provide energy and a surprising ability to score the basketball in the stead of Blake Griffin off the bench.
DeAndre Jordan: Due to the glut of injuries suffered by the Clippers a season ago, Jordan played significantly more than expected and showed flashes of the strength and athleticism which made him such a great basketball prospect coming out of high school two years ago. With a re-tooled front line, don't expect Jordan to get much run, at least in close game situations this season.
Guard:
Baron Davis: The leader of the team battled injuries and Mike Dunleavy in his first year in LA, but may very well have solved both issues over the summer. He's in great shape and reportedly has spent time with his head coach in an effort to work out the dispute over style of play. Clearly Davis, with all the athletic finishers around him, wants to run more, and it's fair to expect that to occur in 2009-10. After nearly getting traded during his first year with the Clippers, everything is pointing toward a return to the All-Star caliber player we saw with New Orleans and Golden State earlier in his career.
Eric Gordon: An argument can be made that Gordon was the best player in the rookie class last season as he posted 20 points per game on 47 percent shooting in the second half of the season after Dunleavy began giving him more playing time and freedom. Five 30-point games, 39 percent three-point field goal shooting and spectacular athleticism to go along with an NBA-ready body at the age of 20 make Gordon a potential superstar in the making in Los Angeles.
Sebastian Telfair: While he probably won't get the 30 minutes per game he averaged the past two years in Minnesota, Telfair should make a very solid backup to Davis. Another guy who excels in transition, Telfair looks to be settling in during an up-and-down career and should fit well with this team.
Ricky Davis: When the Clippers really needed Davis last season, he laid an egg. He's certainly not the athlete he was in his younger days, and that 40 percent mark he'd shot from three-point range over a two-year span before joining Los Angeles took a major dive for a club that could've used his scoring ability to stretch a defense. Still, as was the case with the majority of the team, he was hampered by injuries, and it would reason he still has the talent to score off the bench, or at least the Clippers think so, as they declined to waive Davis in August when they had their chance.
Mardy Collins: Coming over as part of the Zach Randolph trade last year, Collins was another young player who got a bigger opportunity than planned. A big, strong wing player who is in the NBA because of his defensive prowess, Collins actually played some lead guard for Dunleavy, but assuming we don't see a repeat of last year's poor fortune in regard to injuries, playing time looks to be sparse this upcoming season for the fourth-year pro.
Sleeper:
Baron Davis: How can an All-Star who is one of the more recognizable players in the NBA be a sleeper? Well, Davis was downright awful last year in LA, and has essentially fallen off the map as one of the league's elite point guards. He's two full seasons removed from that magical performance he had for Golden State in the '06-'07 playoffs and looked to be on the outs in Los Angeles, not just with the front office but also with his head coach. With a renewed focus and drive, Davis appears to have used the sour taste left from last season as motivation for what looks like a surprising return to prominence in 2009-10.
Bust:
Chris Kaman: Last year at this time, Kaman looked to be a budding star in the league, but injuries and a lack of consistency have derailed that outlook significantly. There were always some weaknesses in his game - his stone hands, his penchant for losing focus - but now there are players on his squad who will outwork him in practice (Griffin and Smith) and a guy playing ahead of him in Camby who is simply more valuable to the team.
Article first appeared on 9/24/09
