Clippings: The Clippers have turned into snipers in Orlando

The LA Clippers were substantially below league average in 3-point rate before the hiatus. They ranked 23rd in the NBA with 33.2 3-point attempts per game and 19th in the percentage of their offense that came from threes.

Their relatively low number of attempts belies the fact that the Clippers shot the ball fairly well from distance during the first 64 games of the season. They ranked 10th in the league by making 36.6% of their threes.

Some might say that the Clippers’ efficiency from beyond the arc is because they are discerning in their attempts; they convert a high percentage because they take high-quality looks from 3-point range. However, the Clippers have a number of marksmen on their team, including Paul George and Landry Shamet, as well as specialists like Patrick Patterson and JaMychal Green, who probably could have taken more shots from long distance. It seemed like there was some low-hanging fruit the Clippers could address to make their offense even more dynamic.

In Orlando, the Clippers have taken that step to reimagine their offensive profile. Now, instead of just being an efficient long-range shooting team, they have become a high-volume shooting team, typified by the franchise-record 25 threes they made against New Orleans Saturday.

During the five games the Clippers have played in the bubble, they have taken 42.6 3-pointers per game and made 40.4% of them. Whereas 3-point attempts previously accounted for 37.0% of the team’s field goals, they have represented 51.6% of the team’s shot attempts during the restart. The accuracy clearly hasn’t suffered, although the Clippers have only really played one good defensive team in the Lakers, so it’s hard to know if that’s sustainable.

Either way, it’s an interesting wrinkle on an offense that was already third in efficiency before the hiatus. If the Clippers’ offensive attack become more potent, that is a scary prospect for the rest of the league.

More news for Monday:

• We wish all the best to Montrezl Harrell, who lost his grandmother last week and is taking some time away from the team.
• ESPN has the story on how social justice efforts remain alive in the bubble.
• Jonathan Tjarks examined the latest Battle for L.A. for The Ringer and came to the conclusion that the Clippers can stop LeBron James better than any other team. But what does that mean for Anthony Davis?
• Jenny Jarvie of the L.A. Times looked at how strip clubs — particularly Magic City — are operating during an era of social distancing. There are some interesting Lou Williams tidbits in this one.
• Really entertaining story from Candace Buckner of The Washington Post on Nick Nurse’s use of emojis.
• An important account from Patty Mills about the racism he faced growing up in Australia.
• ICYMI: Doc Rivers is now 11th all-time in NBA coaching wins. Congrats, Doc!