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Rankings Roundup
|
Outlet |
Ranker |
Ranking |
Change |
Comment |
|
ESPN |
Marc Stein |
7 |
-1 |
Distinction that probably sounds better than it really is: DeAndre Jordan (first in FG percentage), J.J. Redick (second in 3-point percentage) and Jamal Crawford (first in FT percentage) might make the Clips the first team in history to field the league leader in all three of those categories. A more important distinction: They are the last team to beat Golden State in a playoff series, which has to count for something. |
|
CBS Sports |
Matt Moore |
7 |
-1 |
Eventually, Blake Griffin's going to come back and what this team looks like when that happens is going to be Must-See TV. Their schedule is about to become a gauntlet, so keeping it together through this stretch will be a challenge, but not one they're unaccustomed to. |
|
NBA.com |
John Schuhman |
6 |
-1 |
Jeff Green is still very much Jeff Green, scoring five, 18, six and 22 points in his first four games with the Clippers. But Green's inconsistency still looks like an upgrade over the little offense they've been getting from starting forwards Luc Mbah a Moute and Paul Pierce. Either way, Chris Paul and J.J. Redick continue to carry the offense and don't get enough attention for how good of a shooting backcourt they've been. |
|
SI |
Jeremy Woo |
6 |
-1 |
How good has J.J. Redick been all year? He’s got the league’s highest individual offensive rating (112.4) among players who aren’t Warriors or named Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook. He has the highest individual net rating of all non-Warriors and non-Spurs. He has the best effective field goal and true shooting percentages among guards not named Steph Curry (min. 10 games, 20 mpg). |
This week is a reminder why power rankings can be empty of anything beyond “momentum. For whatever reason, CBS Sports ranked Portland and Boston ahead of the Clippers. ESPN also ranked Boston ahead of the Clippers. I get that those teams have played better of late, but to put them in the top 10, if not top 5, is absurd.
Metrics Watch
|
Metric |
Number |
Ranking |
|
Win Percentage |
.655 |
6th |
|
Margin of Victory |
+4.6 |
5th |
|
Net Rating |
+5.4 |
4th |
|
Offensive Rating |
106.4 |
6th |
|
Defensive Rating |
101.0 |
7th |
|
Assist Ratio |
1.72 |
5th |
|
Rebound % |
48.1% |
26th |
The Clippers continue to be solid as a team for statistics. They improved in most areas listed above from the week prior. That said, it’s interesting to see how poorly the team stacks up to other teams for purposes of rebounding.
Parting Thoughts
Matt Moore is correct that the Clippers will be must-watch TV when Blake Griffin returns. As Marc Stein noted, the Clippers are the last team to beat the Golden State Warriors in the playoffs. While times have changed, the Clippers pretty much have the highest ceiling remaining to be tapped. The hope is just that the Clippers will have enough time to sort things out after Blake returns. This would be most possible if the Clippers avoid the Warriors until the Conference Finals.