With one of the most appealing situations in the league this offseason, here are five free agent targets for the Los Angeles Clippers. After trading their three best players (Chris Paul, DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin) either before or during the 2017-18 season, the Los Angeles Clippers seemed headed toward a significant reset bordering on
Los Angeles Clippers
With the NBA’s post-season in full swing and historic playoff games being played almost nightly, there are some storylines to watch as the race to a championship unfolds. Here are a few things to watch, especially if some of the ongoing series don’t play out as some had hoped when the season started some seven
Previewing the first-round series between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers with shot charts, assist maps, offensive style charts and expected win probabilities. Shot charts In a tremendous underdog story, the Golden State Warriors once again finished with the number one seed in the Western Conference playoffs. As always, they were led by
By the end of the night, the NBA’s postseason second round will be officially set — first from 30 teams to 16 and soon just nine shall remain. Throughout the regular season — and for much of the last two years, actually — the biggest, most important question has been repeatedly asked ad nauseam: Can
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 21: Klay Thompson #11 of the Golden State Warriors shoots the ball against Jerome Robinson #10 of the Los Angeles Clippers during the second half of Game Four of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER:
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 18: Patrick Beverley #21 of the LA Clippers reacts to his foul on Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors during Game Two of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center on April 18, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) NOTE TO
LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 26: Golden State Warriors Forward Kevin Durant (35) warms up before game six of the first round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Clippers on April 26, 2019 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty
OAKLAND, CA – APRIL 24: Patrick Beverley #21 and Montrezl Harrell #5 of the LA Clippers talk during Game Five of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs against the Golden State Warriors on April 24, 2019 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or
Being up 3-1 is usually child’s play for a No. 2 seed. For Toronto, it means so much more. Since the Raptors’ rise to prominence in 2013, this is how every single playoff series for them has turned out. 2014: Lost to the fourth-seeded Nets team in seven games2015: Lost to the fifth-seeded Wizards in
The first round of the NBA Playoffs provides infrequent upsets – especially since 2003 when the first round was extended to a best-of-seven series (from a best-of-five). Per the usual, this year has its share of favorites in the driver’s seat. For example, it’s a fair assumption that the Celtics, Rockets, Trailblazers and Bucks will
There is nothing worse in sports than seeing somebody get hurt. In the NBA, we’ve seen plenty of devastating setbacks. Torn ACL’s, ruptured Achilles, broken bones—all of them season-enders and most of them career-alterers. Jusuf Nurkic’s gruesome leg injury most recently comes to mind. Before that, Victor Oladipo and Dejounte Murray. Last year, Gordon Hayward’s
OAKLAND, CA – APRIL 13: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors reacts to a play during Game One of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs against the LA Clippers on April 13, 2019 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 13: Kevin Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors has words with Patrick Beverley #21 of the LA Clippers during Game One of the first round of the 2019 NBA Western Conference Playoffs at ORACLE Arena on April 13, 2019 in Oakland, California. Both players were ejected after the play. NOTE
The Golden State Warriors had it all working, building a 31-point lead against the Clippers in Game 2. And then they blew it. It took back-to-back 40 point quarters, building to an 85-point second half. It took 22 Warriors turnovers, nine from Kevin Durant. It took Durant fouling out and 85 points from Danilo Gallinari,
Last year in this space, we introduced a metric called Wins Above Age-Derived Expectation, or WAADE. It measures exactly what it sounds like: how many more wins an NBA team actually gets than you would have expected them to based on their minutes-weighted age. In introducing the metric, we highlighted several teams that stood out
If you’ve been a diehard NBA fan for years, you’ll probably remember the 2016-17 Los Angeles Lakers. No, their record wasn’t the greatest and, no, they didn’t make the playoffs in the competitive, crowded Western Conference. Instead, this team had its fair share of inside jokes, including one that gradually grew into a viral sensation.
Welcome to The Whiteboard, your daily source for the previous day’s best NBA content from around the internet, plus an original column. Catch The Whiteboard here on The Step Back, and subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning. For a team that is planning on reaching peak form after adding
Last year, this writer started his tenure with Basketball Insiders writing about who had the best case for Coach of the Year. One year later, we’re revisiting the same discussion. This time, with an entirely new slate of candidates. The Coach of the Year Award produces one of the most fascinating races in the NBA
Last year, this writer started his tenure with Basketball Insiders writing about who had the best case for Coach of the Year. One year later, he’s revisiting the same discussion. This time with an entirely new slate of candidates. The Coach of the Year Award produces one of the most fascinating races in the NBA
Can you believe that the NBA regular season is less than a month away from concluding? It’s March 18, and teams are gearing up for the final stretch run before the playoffs get here. Thus far, there have been three teams to solidify their spots—the Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers—while the rest of
There’s a reason why “Unorthodox” is the operative word here. There were several big winners from the trade deadline. Philadelphia got the perfect and relatively young scorer in Tobias Harris to put next to Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Toronto added an experienced, jack-of-all-trades center in Marc Gasol to cement their status as a contender.
There’s a reason why “Unorthodox” is the operative word here. There were several big winners from the trade deadline. Philadelphia got the perfect and relatively young scorer in Tobias Harris to put next to Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Toronto added an experienced, jack-of-all-trades center in Marc Gasol to cement their status as a contender.
Welcome to The Whiteboard, your daily source for the previous day’s best NBA content from around the internet, plus an original column. Catch The Whiteboard here on The Step Back, and subscribe here to get it delivered to you via email each morning. Lou Williams, on his way to a terrific 35 point showing that
In recent campaigns, the importance of a good, reliable bench unit has soared out the window as the rise in superteams grew larger. This is not to say that the Golden State Warriors regret not having a consistent Sixth Man of the Year contender in their second unit because, well, their back-to-back championships speak for
The craziness that was the NBA Trade Deadline has come and gone with multiple deals being made, including some big ones that sort of shook up the landscape of the Eastern Conference. Not only that, but buyout season has arrived as well with teams looking to add pieces for a playoff push. Here at Basketball
On Thursday, the NBA’s trade deadline hit all zeroes — along with plenty of fireworks — and now buyout season is right around the corner. But as franchises continue bolstering their roster ahead of the postseason (or lottery-bound future efforts), another deadline passed recently without much fanfare. Last month, the deadline to sign players to
Entering this season, the Clippers’ roster didn’t include a single player who had been with the team for more than two years. The roster also didn’t include a single All-Star, and after not landing a blockbuster free agent and facing one of the hardest schedules in the league, it would’ve been reasonable for the Clippers
The LA Clippers have put themselves in position to build a new big three and become a contender in the Western Conference. Don’t tell Jerry West and Elton Brand that the trade deadline is typically meant for small tweaks ahead of a playoff run. For the LA Clipper and Philadelphia 76ers, it provided an opportunity
Remember when the consensus with the NBA Trade Deadline was that it was going to be pretty boring with more buyers than sellers? Those were some good times, because a lot has changed since then. Suddenly, the Grizzlies decided to end their golden age of basketball, Kristaps Porzingis and the Knicks divorced and rumors are swirling
Remember when the consensus with the NBA Trade Deadline was that it was going to be pretty boring with more buyers than sellers? Those were some good times, because a lot has changed since then. Suddenly, the Grizzlies decided to end their golden age of basketball, Kristaps Porzingis and the Knicks divorced and rumors are swirling