Clippers can’t play small-ball
Holden Douglas
Host · Writer
INGLEWOOD, CALIF— The Clippers fell short against the Trail Blazers 114-104. Los Angeles’ small-ball lineup was overmatched by Portland’s size.
Portland took advantage of its bigger size and controlled the paint against Los Angeles. The Clippers were dominated on the glass and were out-rebounded 48-30.
Donovan Clingan, Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara, and Robert Williams all recorded seven or more rebounds. All four of these players are 6’7 or taller.
The bigger players on Portland’s side racked up 32 rebounds, which was more than the entire Clippers team.
Struggles on offense
Rebounding is not the only issue that the small-ball lineup currently faces. The offense has a major hole with no interior.
“We’re not good enough with the small lineup right now. I told the players I [would] take accountability for that because we haven’t had the chance to practice, said Coach Lue. “We haven’t played small all year. We don’t know how to play offensively with the smaller unit yet.”
Offensively, the Clippers have to be more reliant on perimeter play since they do not have a threat in the paint. The Trail Blazers exposed the flaws in relying on only the backcourt.
Portland’s defense picked up the Clipper ball handler at the half-court line and this disrupted Los Angeles’ offense. The Trail Blazers didn’t have to worry about guarding the interior because there was no presence there.
This meant the Blazers could swarm the Clippers immediately and the only threat from the Los Angeles offense was already contained.
Concerns for playoffs
Against a play-in team, small-ball was a disaster for the Clippers. It’ll be even more of a nightmare compared to the Thunder or Spurs.
Oklahoma City dominates the league with a smaller lineup as they won a championship with six players under 6’6. All of these players returned for the Thunder, who currently have the best record in the NBA.
To effectively match up with the Thunder, a team must present size to overwhelm their smaller defenders. However, the Clippers lack that size and will be forced to play small against the best small-ball team in the league.
In the other possible match-up, San Antonio has the tallest player in the NBA. Victor Wembanyama is a candidate for MVP and impacts the game with his height.
To contain Wembanyama, bigger wings are needed to put pressure on the perimeter. Yet, the Spurs will not face any of these issues against the Clippers because Los Angeles is too small.
Since the top two seeds in the west are equipped to dispatch smaller teams in the league, that means small-ball won’t work. Therefore, the Clippers sticking with a smaller team will likely translate to a first round exit.
