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NBA Los Angeles Clippers

Los Angeles Clippers Need Their Bench To Step Up

By

Russell Isabella - USA TODAY Sports

Russell Isabella – USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Clippers played a very strong game against the Utah Jazz, with their starters absolutely dominating. It was an extremely balanced attack by their starters led by Chris Paul’s playmaking ability and Blake Griffin’s improving offensive game. They moved the ball around and were clearly the superior team. Jamal Crawford continued his hot shooting off of the bench, and Jordan Farmar was able to chip in as well. But none of the bench players were able to post a positive plus/minus rating, and it is a worrying sign that the bench has been unable to consistently play well as a unit.

The Clippers were supposed to have improved depth after bringing in Spencer Hawes and Jordan Farmar during the offseason. They have younger players growing into roles, as well as several veterans still on the roster. But the bench needs to play better than they did Saturday night, both on offense and defense. They were extremely stagnant, waiting for players to go one-on-one, and being too careless with the ball. They had seven turnovers compared to only four from the starters. Defensively, they were late on rotations and gave up too many points in the paint. They quickly gave up leads that the first unit had created, almost losing the momentum that was created.

There is plenty of talent and depth on the roster, but in order for the Clippers to be a contender, they need players other than Crawford to step up off of the bench. They have a great group of starters, but cannot rely on playing them 40 minutes a night in order to be successful. The organization made the moves to bolster the bench, and now they need them to rise up to the challenge. They cannot be giving up leads when playoff time comes around, and will have to compete against the deep rosters in the Western Conference if they want to achieve their goal.

 

 

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