Comparative Analysis of Team Stats - 17 Games vs. 13 Games

Here are some interesting stats on how the Clippers are playing as a team comparing the 17 games vs. the 13 games figures, after winning 4 straight games and how they rank in the league:

1. Offense – We jumped from being number 9 to 5 in the offense scoring 105.1 points per game which is 1.6 points higher than the previous average. The points differential per game also climbed from +2.7 points to +5.9 points per game where we are now ranked # 7 versus # 10 in previous standing. Being # 3 (we were #2 before) in field goal percentage at 47.9% and tremendously improving in our 3 point Field Goal Percentage of 38.1 % (from #7 to # 2!) are the main reasons why our offense is becoming more potent. Our 3 point shooting, which is becoming an important weapon in our offensive arsenal has caught up with the best 3 point shooting team in the NBA, Golden State (38.5%), who is only ahead of us by a slim margin of 0.4%. We are number one in 3 point shots attempted with an average of 26.2 shots per game and converting an average of 10 shots per game!

We were ranked number one in offense last year.

2. Defense – We are still in the middle of the pack but have improved a bit holding our opponents to 99.3 points per game (#16) as opposed to 100.5 points per game before (#20). We are far below Memphis (#1), the king of defense, limiting opposing teams to 92.4 points per game! Whereas wee allow the other teams to score 45.0% against us (#16), Memphis has a low opponent goal percentage average of 43.4%. It is worthwhile to note that last year we were ranked #14 in points allowed with 101.0 points per game and # 5 in opponent field goal percentage of 44.1% per game. There is still a lot of work to do in this area.

3. Rebounds – This is biggest eye sore for our team being ranked # 29 in team rebounding with 38.6 rebounds per game which is slightly higher than Miami (# 30) with 36.7 rebounds. The leader of rebounds is Portland with 48.1 rebounds per game. Our offensive rebounding (if we have any) could be beyond repair. This is the least priority in Doc’s whole philosophy in basketball.

4. Miscellaneous – Technical fouls are still something that the Clippers are being slapped regularly. 22 technical fouls lead the league (Blake leads everybody else!). Worth mentioning is the noticeable improvement in foul throw shooting percentage per game that jumped from 75.4% to 77.0% (Blake is the most improved!). We are # 3 in the team that has less turnovers mainly because of CP3.

I have mentioned previously that the Clippers are late bloomers and are slow at the starting gate. The goal is not only to be a contender but also to have home court advantage in the playoff. Basically it means to be counted as among the best, if not the best, in offense, defense and rebounding. Time is of the essence!