NBA: Distinguishing The 2014-15 Contenders And Pretenders

Sep 29, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward

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Los Angeles Clippers – Pretenders

Don’t get me wrong, this is a great team. As a matter of fact, they very well may finish in the top-3 in the Western Conference. When it comes down to it, they just don’t have enough. After letting key bench players go in free agency, including Darren Collison, they will not be able compete with the San Antonio Spurs, or Oklahoma City Thunder this year. If the Golden State Warriors were completely healthy in the playoffs last year, the Clippers may have been ousted in the first round.

They just need more production out of their bench. Blake Griffin and Chris Paul are always gonna give them their best, but can’t say the same for the rest of the team. J.J. Redick is improving, but that isn’t enough to get it done. One could argue the, “Donald Sterling Saga,” may have distracted them, but that is debatable. Even without that mishap, until they bring in more players this team will not contend.

PROJECTED STARTERS (with 2013-14 NBA statistics)

PG: Chris Paul — 19.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 10.7 assists and 2.5 steals a game
SG: J.J. Redick — 15.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists a game
SF: Matt Barnes — 9.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists a game
PF: Blake Griffin — 24.1 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists a game
C: DeAndre Jordan — 10.4 points, 13.6 rebounds and 2.5 blocks a game