Marreese Speights could be the LA Clippers' missing piece
Marreese Speights was a vital key to the Golden State Warriors’ 2015 NBA championship. The LA Clippers are hoping for more of the same in their own run this year.
December 22, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; LA Clippers center Marreese Speights (5) reacts after scoring a basket against the San Antonio Spurs during the second half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
The departure of Cole Aldrich in NBA free agency last summer left a big hole for the LA Clippers’ bench, and despite so much money being thrown around because of the salary cap jump ($70 million to $94 million) over one year, the Clippers were able to sign a proven bucket maker in Marreese Speights, known by the world as “Mo’ Buckets”, for the veteran’s minimum and no more.
Speights has fit in quite nicely with the bench and has seen the highest Player Efficiency Rating (PER) of his career while playing with the Clippers, currently at a fairly impressive 20.4. He has been able to play with the bench or even play alongside Blake Griffin.
L.A. partly signed Speights because of his versatility to play with the bench or with a starting big, but if you have not guessed it already, he’s been brought in for buckets and spacing. He has range, and will consistently make shots from 20 feet and beyond the three-point line.
November 19, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; LA Clippers center Marreese Speights (5) shoots the ball against Chicago Bulls forward Bobby Portis (5) during the second half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
How Speights spreads the floor
Speights spreads the floor in a way that the LA Clippers have not had from a backup big or even a big in general. They’ve tried to find a big in the past (Spencer Hawes and Josh Smith, for example) with enough range to clear out the paint and stretch defense to find easier shots and space for those inside. With those other players not working out it’s a great thing to see Doc “The GM” Rivers with a good signing that is actually paying off.
Speights has a pretty quick trigger and his release point is high enough that it’s unlikely to be blocked by opposing players. It also helps that he brings out defending centers to the three-point line which opens the paint for drives and dishes from the likes of Raymond Felton, Austin Rivers and Jamal Crawford.
He does give up some on the defensive end and is poor when drawn away from the basket, but his 9.9 points per game and 38.2 percent three-point shot (with a major career-high of 1.3 makes per game, too) helps make up for that. He’s not Aldrich and he is not Jordan, he is Marreese Speights, a player that give you what the league is moving toward as a stretch five that can (and will) shoot from just about anywhere.
He can even put it on the floor when a close out comes and put it down with authority.
Not that such dunks happen too often, but more offensive punch is always needed from the bench. And a player of his skill set at center is something the Clippers have been looking for.
Dec 10, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; LA Clippers forward Marreese Speights (5) celebrates with Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (right) during the third quarter against the New Orleans Pelicans at Staples Center. The Los Angeles Clippers won 133-105. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Mo’ Buckets is the player the Clippers have wanted
Speights is a player that the LA Clippers have never had in the Doc Rivers Era. He gives the team another scorer and he gives them the versatility to have more shooters around the three-point line while a big stays in the paint to battle for rebounds or back tap it to a player in the backcourt.
Speights is not going to give you 20 rebounds like Jordan or be the monster that Blake Griffin is. Speights knows who he is and will continue to shoot the ball, and for a fair amount of the time he’s going to come up with a basket when you need bailing out. He’s not afraid to take the shot and that is the type of player the Clippers need outside Crawford.
When Blake drives and the defense collapses, he can kick it out to Mo for the open three. Even when space isn’t there, Speights isn’t confident to the point that he’ll never keep the ball moving and make extra passes around the wing.
Of course, it all takes time to come together with a new team, but from what we have seen in the first 37 games of the season, we can only expect more of the same.
They’ve had the injury bug go around the team and it’s moved them further down the rankings to 4th in the Western Conference, but when healthy and locked in they have the capability to beat anyone.
Speaking of seedings, what can we expect from Speights going forward as the playoffs slowly approach?
Dec 23, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; LA Clippers center Marreese Speights (5) and forward Luc Mbah a Moute (12) defend against Dallas Mavericks forward Harrison Barnes (40) in the second half of the NBA basketball game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports
Looking forward
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The Clippers have one of the best starting units in the NBA, and in earlier years it has been the bench who has lost leads. This year’s bench has shown flashes (especially early on) of being one of the best reserve groups in the league. The addition of Marreese Speights and Raymond Felton in the offseason have only made the team better, because those pieces fit into the puzzle so well and have contributed right away without needing ages to figure out their role.
There are still almost four months of regular season basketball left and that leaves plenty of time to tweak defensive assignments as well as rotations once everyone comes back healthy.
Speights is what the Clippers wanted in a stretch big and more, and is part of the reason the team got out to such a fast start and gave fans hope their beloved franchise will make it past the second round for the first time.
Seems like a lot of praise of a role player, right?
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Well, it’s the role players that help win playoff series and are especially relevant to taking the typically shallow LA Clippers to a new level, so I have high expectations for Speights in this year’s campaign. Get your popcorn ready and wait to see some fireworks.
