Quick Thoughts on Clippers' Start

Eight games into the NBA season, the Clippers have navigated a fairly difficult early schedule about as one would expect, accumulating a 5-3 record.  Overall, the offense has looked even better than last year.  The Clippers are currently second in the NBA in offensive efficiency, scoring 109 points per 100 possessions.  Chris Paul has been in attack mode more often than usual early in the season, Jamal Crawford is off to a red hot start much like last season, JJ Redick is scoring efficiently, and DeAndre Jordan is leading the NBA in offensive rebounding.  Blake Griffin is off to a terrific start as well, putting up 22.1 PPG on 57% shooting.  The constant nitpicking by members of the national media of Blake’s game (particularly his offensive game) actually make him one of the more underrated players in the NBA.  So that’s the good news….

But apparently, there is this other half of the game called defense.  Somebody should alert the Clippers to this fact.  The Clippers are 28^th in the NBA in defensive efficiency, allowing 106 points per 100 possessions.  While I will not pretend to have any expert insight into the defensive schemes that Doc Rivers is implementing, the most logical explanation for the Clippers' struggles is a learning curve.  This team was middle of the pack defensively last year and the personnel is no worse this season.  As the team learns to Rivers’ principles and system, I would expect them to rise to the middle of the pack or perhaps a bit better.