While the Los Angeles Clippers are still searching for ways to boost their small forward position, they’ve found a reliable fit with veteran Luc Mbah A Moute.
Expectations may have diminished in recent weeks following their hot start, but the Los Angeles Clippers are still rolling along near the top of the league.
At 22-9, the Clippers have come back down to Earth and teams like the San Antonio Spurs and surprisingly, the Houston Rockets, are challenging them in their quest to achieve runner-up status in the West behind the Golden State Warriors.
The recent loss of Blake Griffin has certainly brought things down for the Clippers and now they’re hoping they can repeat history in how well they’ve performed without him in the past. Now they’ll look to players who’ll have to step up in Griffin’s absence and take on more playing time playing at the team’s power forward spot.
For one player, though, that task wouldn’t be anything new as he’s already done a formidable job holding down a key position in the Clippers’ starting lineup throughout the year.
In his second season with the Clippers, Luc Mbah a Moute has exceeded expectations by leaps and bounds.
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The 30-year-old Mbah a Moute is on pace to have a career year in terms of efficiency as he’s currently shooting 41.3 percent from three and averaging a true shooting percentage of 59.9 percent on 6.3 points per game.
Sure, that may be a on a very small volume (Mbah a Moute is averaging 4.6 field goal attempts per game), but his blistering efficiency is a luxury the Clippers will take happily.
On the defensive end, Mbah a Moute has continued adding to his case as being one of the league’s underrated defenders. Whether it’s matching up against premier scoring threats on the wing or athletic point guards, there’s hardly an assignment that fazes Mbah a Moute defensively.
The numbers back that up too as Mbah a Moute is averaging a DBPM (Defensive Box Plus Minus) of 2.4 per 100 possessions, per Basketball-Reference.com. Additionally, Mbah a Moute ranks 11th of all players in DRPM (2.63), per ESPN.com’s Real Plus-Minus projection.
With Griffin now out for an extended period of time, it seems inevitable that head coach Doc Rivers will slot Mbah a Moute at the 4 spot for some stretches.
We’ll have to wait and see if that’s the case, but what Mbah a Moute brings offensively, both in terms of spacing and efficiency, is exactly what the Clippers will need in the time Griffin is sidelined.
Putting all that aside though, Mbah a Moute’s surprising success this year has given him a chance to reclaim his place within the league.
After all, the nine-year veteran has been well traveled, playing for four teams in as many years. Despite filling the same role for the Clippers last year, Mbah a Moute’s improvements this season have suddenly made him one of the more valuable players for the team.
Even as the question still remains for the Clippers to bolster their small forward depth, Mbah a Moute’s play this year has given them a workable solution for the time being, one they may not have saw coming heading into the year.
Now it’s all a matter of Mbah a Moute keeping up his production throughout the rest of the season and considering recent circumstances, the next few weeks will be a big test of whether that holds.
