15. Los Angeles Clippers
Starters – Chris Paul, J.J. Redick, Wesley Johnson, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan
Bench – Austin Rivers, Jamal Crawford, Paul Pierce, Brandon Bass, Marreese Speights
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute or Wesley Johnson, take your pick. The Paul Pierce starting days are over. If you want the Clippers to have more defense, go with Mbah a Moute. If you want more offense, choose Johnson. You could choose either and it all evens out.
Besides that, the Clippers starting 5 will be returning those other guys.
Doc re-signed his son probably more for sentimental value than him being the best backup PG they could’ve gone after (the Wizards traded a 2021 2nd rounder for Trey Burke), but I can’t deny his scoring ability.
Jamal Crawford continues to be the eternal gold standard for the Sixth Man role.
Pierce, my favorite player of all time and the reason I love the Celtics, sadly is on the decline of his HOF career, and will most likely be relegated to the bench. Hopefully he returns to play (his status is still up in the air last I checked), and starts to find a shell of his former self.
Brandon Bass is a Doc Rivers favorite. He’s a consistent player, and is a good role player. Speights is technically a stretch-5, but was signed for his scoring punch rather than defense or rebounding.
Overall this bench unit is better than people give it credit for, and I think will surprise some people next season…. it may be enough to get Chris Paul to the WCF.
Next: No. 14