Apr 14, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Clippers center
DeAndre Jordan(6) talks to head coach
Doc Riversagainst the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
3. Free Throw Optional
When half of your team’s free throws are being shot by DeAndre Jordan, it’s understandable that you’re going to walk away from the game shooting a not so great percentage. The Clippers got to the free throw line 28 times (Jordan was there for 12 of those), and they ended up hitting 61 percent.
On the other side of things, the Spurs got to the line for a near equal share of attempts with 26. They hit 54 percent of their shots from the charity stripe. This has been an area both teams have struggled with in the past, so it’s hard to imagine the battle being won at the foul line in this series.
4. LA’s 1-Man Bench
At the beginning of the season I selected the Los Angeles Clippers to make it all the way to the NBA Finals out of the Western Conference. The reason why I rescinded that prediction was because their second unit starts and ends with perennial sixth-man of the year candidate Jamal Crawford. He was the only non-starter for the Clippers to accumulate more than 15 minutes of action; and outside of Glen Davis‘ +1, he was the only bench player for LA to have a positive plus/minus stat (his was +8).
5. Splitter Disappeared
Ten minutes. That’s how much time Spurs center Tiago Splitter spent on the floor in Sunday’s loss. The three-headed monster that is Lob City, features two incredibly talented big men in Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. With Splitter on the court for so little time that puts a lot of pressure and strain on Tim Duncan and the big men that the Spurs bring off of the bench.
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