NBA: Clippers after the Blake Griffin era: Finally up to date?

After the Los Angeles Clippers sent Blake Griffin to Detroit before the last deadline, there was talk of a complete rebuild in many places. But things turned out differently: With new staff and style of play, the Clippers can still hope for the playoffs.

“Blake Griffin is a superstar, of course. We had the one player who led us in all categories. In the modern NBA, however, one sees more and more how responsibilities are distributed within the team. That’s what Clippers owner Steve Ballmer explained after the smoke from Blake Griffin’s blockbuster trade had already warped a little towards the pistons.

The superstar was gone and DeAndre Jordan and Lou Williams were already considered boned, but both are now important pillars of the new team basketball: “Sometimes there are complete rebuilds. We don’t do that. Our goal is the playoffs,” coach Doc Rivers told the LA Times about his team’s situation.

One player, Tobias Harris, who came as a key piece from the Detroit Pistons, will also be responsible for the playoffs. His performance is an indication of why the Clippers made the right decision. After playing his best season with the Pistons by far, he still makes a good move in the City of Angels.

In his first 19 games he scored 19.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists. He is also very efficient out of the field: he scores 47.8 percent of his throws and 41.3 percent of his 5.8 threes per game. Rivers is also convinced of the performance explosion, as he explains to Royce Young (ESPN): “He’s better than I thought.”

Harris is only 25 years old and could be an important part of the future Clippers, even if his contract expires after next season. Early extension talks would allow Ballmer and Co. well advised, even if this could become costly. The same applies to Jordan, who will become a free agent in the summer of 2018.

Harris is, unlike Griffin, the optimal front court partner for DAJ, as the skills of the two do not overlap. Harris, who offers the Clippers enormous spacings, acts rather from the face-up, while Jordan makes much with his back to the basket and radiates danger through his cracking dunks, which Harris adds another facet to the game.

Harris can penetrate to the basket, while shooters at the perimeter but also Jordan at the basket provide an isolation that is difficult to double, otherwise DAJ would get simple points by praise. The Clippers use this 2.4 times per game – with success: Harris scores a strong 0.97 points per isolation play. His counterpart Griffin only scored 0.85 points in Detroit.

Also the pick’n’roll heavy offense from Rivers seems to agree with Harris Skill-Set. Here he is in elitist circles around LeBron James, Chris Paul and Damian Lillard with 1.04 points per posession – logically at a lower volume.

Furthermore, the Clippers let the ball run much better with Harris – they distribute the tasks over several shoulders. While Griffin had the ball in his hand for more than four seconds per move, Harris only had it for about 2.5 seconds.

His playing style – paired with his spacing – creates new possibilities for Danilo Gallinari, who signed a long-term contract this summer and will inevitably be another long-term part of the clips. At the beginning of the season the Italian was, once again, prevented from injuries and did not find his litter, especially from downtown.

He played like a substitute in the five games since Griffin’s trade: he gets about half a free threesome more per game, but scores almost 40 percent. Apart from Griffin, this was around ten percentage points less. Now he’s hurt again, though.

The development of Lou Williams, who is in a throwing crisis after his efficient half season and was consequently ordered back to the bank by Rivers, is going against plan. Without Griffin, he has to create more often for himself, has the ball in his hand longer, takes more difficult throws – and has problems with it. Since Harris arrived, he’s only hit 25.7 percent of downtown, compared to a strong 39 percent at high volumes (7.1 threest/game) before. Did he play above his means? In the fight for the playoffs, the clips need their go-to-guy at the beginning of the season.

Another setback is the retirement of Avery Bradley, who will miss the rest of the regular season – at least. He was operated on the adductors and abdominal muscles. Even if he had only played six games – with moderate success – he could have improved his below-average defense (DRTG: 106.6).

While in the backcourt next to Williams is Austin Rivers, who has made a step forward despite all justifiable criticism and has the best +/- (4.6) since the departure of Griffin. He takes responsibility in tight games – such as the narrow victory over the Nets – and is a dangerous weapon on the offensive with his combination of drive and long-range throw.

Another factor is the return of Milos Teodosic, who has since settled into the NBA and slipped into the top five against the Trail Blazers. Coming from the bench, he creates ball handlers for his teammates, which he serves with clever passes (4.9 assists), but also hits his throw much more consistently.

However, the biggest leap of the bankers was made by a big man: Montrezl Harrell. It has been on the floor for just under 18 minutes since the Griffin Trade – and uses it highly efficiently. Especially against stretch-four like Nikola Mirotic, against whom Harrell played 26 points, he can use his athletics. Contact at Layups doesn’t seem to bother him, from the post he convinces with some hook shots and for his size he is a good ballhandler.

Over the season, he ranks third in a league comparison with 63.6 per cent – even second since trade (77 per cent).

He’s a prime example of the Clippers’ process. With a run into the playoffs all critics of the trade would fall silent, but it is already clear: The sacrifice of their superstar has brought the clips one step forward. Rivers, who was also criticized, knew this right afterwards:”The trade doesn’t mean we’re running a complete rebuild. We had problems and had to create cap space, but wanted to stay relevant and win.”