Paul George and the LA Clippers are two weeks through their 2021-22 NBA schedule, and so far, it hasn't been pretty. The team's gotten off to a 2-4 start, unfortunately wasting two fantastic Paul George games in the process.
How much of their struggles are things that are actually concerning right now? Here's a look at three of the biggest stats that have stuck out from the Clippers' start to the season and why they may, or may not, be a big deal.
1. Three-Point Shooting Woes
So far, however, the Clippers struggles have mostly to do with their shooting and the regression, at least so far, from last year. Through five games, the Clippers rank sixth in the league in three-point shots attempted, but 23rd in three-point percentage. The same team that led the league at 41.3 percent last year can't buy a single bucket this year.
In their four games, the Clippers have generated 113 three-point attempts deemed ‘open,' meaning a defender is within four-to-six feet. Problem is they've only made 34 of those 113 attempts (30.1 percent). They've also generated a total of 101 ‘wide open' shots, meaning a defender is more than six feet away. They've made 36 of those 82 attempts (35.6 percent).
For context, the 2020-21 Clippers led the league in three-point shooting percentage on both ‘open' shots (40.9 percent) and ‘wide open' shots (44.4 percent).
2. Are the Right Guys Taking Those Shots?
Another problem so far this year is what the Clippers are putting on the floor. Last year, Tyronn Lue's team was able to throw any lineup variation on the floor and it would always have at least four shooters as well as a star on the floor to draw attention. Through the team's first two weeks, the guys who you want taking threes (ie Paul George, Reggie Jackson, Nicolas Batum, Luke Kennard, Terance Mann) have all been taking them.
Kennard and George are the only two players shooting at least 41 percent from three. The entire team, outside of those two, is shooting 29 percent or worse. That's made things tougher with Eric Bledsoe and Justise Winslow in the picture trying to find their roles on this team.
The team spent this offseason re-tooling, essentially replacing Patrick Beverley and Kawhi Leonard with Bledsoe and Winslow. So the guys who shot 38.2 percent and 38.4 percent, respectively, from three last year were essentially replaced in the lineup by guys who shoot 33.6 and 32.3 percent, respectively, from three for their careers.
Through six games, Eric Bledsoe has 20 three-point attempts, 10 of which have been catch-and-shoot jumpers. He's made three of the 10 catch-and-shoot attempts and none of his six off-the-dribble attempts. Bledsoe brings a lot to the court as a downhill guard putting pressure on defenses, but he lacks as a shooter.
Winslow hasn't even played enough to have an even somewhat useable sample size. Tyronn Lue mentioned trying to use Winslow more in dribble hand-off actions for the team during Sunday's practice.
“Sort of like a Draymond role,” Lue explained. “We've just got to get better. We're going to work on it a little bit. We've got to get better at it. “
Article Continues BelowThe Clippers should be able to manage with only one of those two players on the court at the same time. Having both of them on as literal non-shooters doesn't do a lot for what the Clipper want to do, which is drive to the basket to score or kick out for threes. So far, Bledsoe and Winslow have shared the court for just under 13 minutes in total this season and it's an incredibly small sample size, but those two in the same lineup just doesn't seem to work.
3. Some Extra Numbers
• Paul George has been carrying the team offensively thus far, averaging 28.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 3.3 steals on 49.2 percent shooting from the field and 41.1 percent from three.
• Of all players in the top 10 in scoring this season, George is averaging the fewest free throws attempted per game.
• Of George's 96 drives this season, only six have resulted in shooting foul calls, and he's gone on to make 11-of-12 free throws.
• Through six games, the Clippers have the fifth best defensive rating and the fifth worst offensive rating. They also lead the league in fewest turnovers per game at 12 per game.
• The number of players involved in five-on-five workouts has increased to three this past week, with Marcus Morris, Serge Ibaka, and Justise Winslow all getting some game reps with the assistant coaches.
Marcus Morris, Serge Ibaka, and Justise Winslow an hour before Clippers practice getting some 5-on-5 runs with the coaches. pic.twitter.com/JWxmBtwI3g
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) October 31, 2021
• It's a small, two-week sample size, but three-point shooting is down significantly so far. This season’s 34.2 percent league average mark from three is the worst since the 1998-99 season, when the league average was a 33.9 percent shooting clip. Paul George believes the NBA's new Wilson basketball could be creating some issues for guys around the league.
“Not to make an excuse about the ball, but it’s a different basketball. It don't have the same touch/softness that the Spalding ball had, and you'll see this year. It's gonna be a lot of bad misses.”
Paul George was asked about the ball. He’s shooting 49% FG & 41% 3PT. pic.twitter.com/PW0y7IjaxC
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) November 2, 2021