How Paul Pierce, not Blake Griffin, gives the Clippers optimal spacing
When Blake Griffin went out with a torn left quad on Christmas Day, the Los Angeles Clippers were underachieving at 17-13.
The upcoming schedule wasn't particularly challenging competition-wise, but it featured a four-game road trip, all without the team's best player and leading scorer. The Clippers appeared doom to drop a few games and drop even further in the Western Conference standings.
But since then, with Paul Pierce replacing Griffin in the starting lineup, the Clippers have surprised and gone on a tear, winning five straight games -- six overall including Griffin's last game -- and scoring at a much higher clip (11.5 points more per 100 possessions, according to the Orange County Register).
It'd be silly to suggest Pierce is better than Griffin -- he's not (at least not anymore) -- but an argument can be made that a stretch-4 like Pierce fits the Clippers' offense better.
Over their past five games, the Clippers are shooting almost 27 3-pointers per game, and making 42 percent of them. Their spacing isn't as cramped, and it's opened up the rest of the offense.
Clippers coach Doc Rivers attributes the scoring uptick to merely launching more treys, but doesn't think it's necessarily a better game plan, via the Orange County Register:
“We’re taking more 3s. That’s the only difference,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. “We’re scoring a lot of points with Blake – and we’re scoring a lot of points without Blake. That’s good. … I don’t care how we get to 110, 105, 115 or 120, I just want to get there.”
Pierce's ability to step behind the arc and make defenses pay for leaving him alone is invaluable for a Clippers' offense that has struggled to find consistent shooting outside of J.J. Redick this season.
On the contrary, Griffin has flashed 3-point range, but insists on stepping a foot or two inside the arc, which is statistically the worst shot in basketball (even though Griffin has become very good at it).
If there's anything Griffin can learn from being out, it's that the Clips would be better served if he stepped beyond the arc every once in a while and unclogged the paint. Teams are paying more attention to Griffin's shooting than ever before, but that's still the preferred outcome compared to him posting up and either scoring near the rim or kicking out to an open shooter.
Griffin will do serious damage -- and prevent his defender from leaving him open -- if he adds 3-point shooting to his repertoire. He doesn't have to become Dirk Nowitzki or Kevin Love -- he just needs to be able to make 3s, and take them without hesitation.
Pierce has been telling him to do that all season, and Rivers already believes Griffin is capable of it:
“He’s working on it anyways,” Rivers said. “That’s where he’s going. He can do it more now, even. And, he will eventually.”
Griffin deserves credit for expanding his game and becoming an elite mid-range shooter. The Clippers' offense has been better with him on the court all season, and a five-game sample shouldn't take away from a larger sample size.
But the league is constantly evolving, and it's about time Griffin starts to accept his inevitable shift.
