NBA Los Angeles Clippers

Los Angeles Clippers Must Trade for More Defense

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In the NBA, a team has to be more than just good to win a championship. Unfortunately, the current Los Angeles Clippers are only good, but possibly one player away from being great.

The Clippers are probably the most entertaining team in the NBA, but being Lob City comes at a cost – little to no defense. That’s not going to get you the ring Los Angeles wants in early June 2015. The Clippers are giving up about 102 points per game (at this point in the season) and teams are shooting 47 percent against them. The good defensive teams in the NBA only allow approximately 95 (ppg).

Even though Chris Paul is considered a tough and gritty player, he’s only about six feet tall and he doesn’t have the defensive skills to stop an elite, opposing guard in crunch time, when defense is needed the most. The Clippers need a defensive stopper who can guard the point, the shooting guard or the small forward. They don’t have much defense in the backcourt and the Western Conference is full of quality guards who can score with ease.

There are many players the Clippers could look into trading for who could be the defensive relief they need. Guys like Tony Allen, Andre Iguodala, Iman Shumpert, Arron Afflalo or maybe Thabo Sefolosha can all lock down just about any guard in the league, and most defensive minded players are not too expensive, they’re usually (under appreciated) role players.

The Clippers don’t yet have the defense in the backcourt to get the important defensive stops late in the fourth quarter of a tough playoff game. These moments are always needed during a championship run. They still have to outscore other teams and that’s not usually a championship formula.

I see a trade in the Clippers’ future, let’s just hope it’s for a defensive specialist.

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