(a sorta) League Preview: Los Angeles Clippers

The League’s sorriest teams are going nowhere. The lottery likelies have slightly more hope, but will undoubtedly record more losses than wins. This next tier includes teams like the Thunder who may well miss the playoffs, but also may take a jump into the world of the formidable. These teams have undeniable talent combined with recent history of disappointment. There is no better example than the 3^rd ranked team from the Western Conference’s Pacific Division.

LA Clippers

PG Baron Davis Sebastian Telfair

SG Eric Gordon Ricky Davis Mardy Collins

SF Al Thorton Rasual Butler

PF Blake Griffin Craig Smith

C Chris Kaman Marcus Camby DeAndre Jordan

The Clippers were awful last year. Imagining anything different for this season requires suspending one’s belief in the Clipper curse of perpetual suckiness. Los Angeles the Lesser does have some serious talent. Baron Davis, Marcus Camby, and Chris Kaman are established vets. Eric Gordon, Al Thorton and Blake Griffin bring the youthful energy. Even with the position overlap with Kaman and Camby, the Clips seem considerably more balanced this season. The bench is deep. Craig Smith, Bassy and Rasual Bulter were good off season acquisitions. DeAndre Jordan may be a diamond in the rough. If Baron Davis has a big season and Griffin is as advertised, the Clippers will be very much in the mix for a playoff seed in the West.

Coach Mike Dunleavy’s strength is his ability to orchestrate a defense. Over the last few seasons, injuries and ill-matched personnel have made serious defensive pursuits pointless. Assuming his oft fragile bigs can stay healthy, the arrival of Griffin and the maturation of Thorton and Gordon finally give Dunleavy the cast he needs. Dunleavy was apparently gushing after Griffin’s first summer League game how the future of the franchise made all the right defensive rotations. Promising sign. Thorton and Gordon both have the physical package to get after opponents on the perimeter as well as experience in Dunleavy’s system. With Camby and Kaman rebounding and guarding the rim, and everybody rotating correctly, the Clips will be hard to score against.

The offensive end of the floor, LA the Lesser has the tools, but not necessarily as clear a game plan. The departure of Zach Randolph should allow Kaman to return to his spot on the block. Before losing most of the last two seasons to injuries, Kaman had established himself as a very effective scorer and passer from the post. The Clips are not exactly loaded with spot up shooters on the perimeter, however, so devising an offense that involves all of the scorers remains a challenge. One answer is to let Davis push the tempo more and get young wings Gordon and Thorton involved in the open court. For defensive reasons, Dunleavy usually keeps tight control on the throttle, so that idea may not fly. Another answer is to involve Griffin and Camby at the foul line extended, and let them find the wings when the defense collapses.

Regardless of the solution on offense, the keys to success are Davis and Griffin. Like his one-time playoff foil Tracy McGrady, Davis appears to be teetering on the edge of the downside of his career. Last season, he had his lowest scoring average (15 pts/g) since second year in the NBA, shooting a career worst 37%. Bad sign for 30 year old pg valued most for his scoring ability. Davis has been quoted several times this summer admonishing himself for his poor play. He is reportedly in great physical shape, and supposedly is on the same page as coach Mike Dunleavy--the lack of shared vision between coach and point guard was a significant problem for the Clips in last season’s 19 win train wreck. A healthy, focused Baron Davis would immediately elevate L.A. into the race for the West’s 8 seed.

A savvy, ready to play now Griffin would make the Clips straight dangerous. Like Kevin Durant and Michael Beasley before him, Griffin enters the big League after a tour de force in the NCAAs. He appears to be more mature physically and mentally than either of his fellow Big 12 alum were as rookies. His size, strength and athleticism are top shelf. If he is poised and can contribute in a manner similar to what Al Horford gave Atlanta as a rook, look out. Griffin could galvanize this potentially mismatched group of talented players into a mean NBA machine.

Injuries to some combination of Davis, Camby and Kaman could end the Clips party pretty quickly. Aside from losing Randolph and adding Griffin, LA did little to improve the roster that stunk up the 08-09 season. The West is still tough. If the Clips act the clown they will get beat down. But if Davis is back to dominating and Griffin can really play, they have the kind of team might be ready to rumble come April.