Los Angeles

Clippers ROSTER

The Clippers are one of the best scoring teams in the NBA. They rank fourth in the league in averaging 116.5 points per game. Kawhi Leonard leads the Clippers in scoring with 27.1 points per game, while Paul George averages 21.5 points per game. Montrezl Harrell (18.6 ppg), Lou Williams (18.2 ppg), and Marcus Morris (10.1 ppg) are three other players who average double figures.

Something the Clippers do as well as anyone is get to the free-throw line, ranking first in the NBA in free throws made (20.7 per game) and second in the NBA in free throws attempted (26.1 per game). They also usually manage to capitalize on those attempts as they rank ninth in the league in shooting 79.1 percent from the free throw line.

They're also an efficient 3-point shooting team in making 37.1 percent of their shots from beyond the arc, which ranks sixth in the league. The Clippers' overall field goal percentage sits at 46.6 percent, good enough for 12th in the NBA. Their effective field goal percentage is in the top 10 in the league, ranking ninth in that category at 53.5 percent.

One area that helps the Clippers on offense is their ability to rebound the ball on both sides of the court. LA is third in the NBA in total rebounds, and ranking eighth in offensive rebounds (10.7 per game) is certainly important in finding second chance opportunities.

The Clippers simply don't have a lot of weaknesses on offense given their superstar duo of Leonard and George leading the way. The team does rank just 22nd in the NBA in assists per game (23.7 apg), but that's likely because they have so many talented playmakers capable of creating their own offense.

Just like on offense, the Clippers have several areas of strength on defense. Opponents have a hard time finding easy shots against Doc Rivers' squad, especially inside the 3-point line. The Clippers allow teams to shoot just 49.9 percent from 2-point range, ranking as the NBA's second-best team in that category.

But the Clippers' perimeter defense is almost just as good. They're fifth in the league in allowing opponents to shoot only 34.5 percent from 3-point range, which makes sense given the size and athleticism on the roster. It's simply not an easy task to score against the Clippers, and that's a characteristic that is important when trying to win an NBA championship.

Something the Clippers struggle with is fouling. Their aggressive style could have something to do with that, but it is an area where LA could improve. The Clippers rank 26th in the NBA in committing 22.2 fouls per game, and that has led to opponents averaging 24.5 free throws per contest, which ranks 22nd in the league.

Another defensive area that the Clippers need to improve in is limiting their opponents' offensive rebounds. The Clippers are 25th in the NBA in allowing teams to average 10.7 offensive rebounds per game. If LA can get better at giving opponents extra looks on offense, they could be a more complete team.

Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue accepted the position following the 2019-20 NBA season in which he served as an assistant coach for LA under Doc Rivers. Prior to joining the Clippers staff, Lue served as head coach for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2016 to 2018, winning an NBA championship in ‘16 with LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love. After James’ departure from Cleveland, Lue was fired six games into the 2018-19 season after losing each game, bringing his career regular season head coaching record to 128-83 (he’s 41-20 in the playoffs, making the NBA Finals all three years).

Lue began his coaching career in 2011 as an assistant for Rivers with the Boston Celtics. He then followed Rivers to the Clippers as an assistant before becoming the associate head coach for the Cavs in 2014-16 under David Blatt. Lue replaced Blatt as head coach during the 2015-16 championship winning season.

Lue is also a former 2-time NBA champion as a player with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he was drafted in the first round in 1998. He went on to play for the Washington Wizards, Orlando Magic, Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks, and Milwaukee Bucks. Lue was a standout in college at Nebraska, where he has his No. 10 jersey retired by the school.