Since the acquisition of James Harden, the LA Clippers have evolved into one of the best offenses in the NBA. We explore why they're destined for an NBA Finals run.
After the 2018 season, the LA Clippers made two huge moves, first signing Kawhi Leonard and then trading for Paul George. Adding these stars to their rosters immediately made them one of the favorites to win the championship. However, it’s now almost five years since the Clippers went all-in to become a championship contender and they still haven’t been in the NBA Finals. The closest they’ve gotten is when they lost to the Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference Finals in 2021.
While the last couple of seasons have been marred by disappointment for the Clippers, there are a ton of reasons to be excited about the team this season. They are currently 35-16 and have the second-best record in the Western Conference. Objectively speaking, this is a team that should be considered one of the favorites to win the 2024 NBA Championship.
A big reason why they’ve been so dominant this season is because of their offense, which has been remarkably efficient. Let’s take a deep dive and see what makes their offense so dominant and why their offensive brilliance should translate to the playoffs.
James Harden has changed the LA Clippers’ offense
Right now, the LA Clippers have one of the top offenses in the NBA. Over halfway through the season, they are averaging 120.8 points per 100 possessions, the third-best mark in the league and the best their offense has been since 2021.
One of the biggest reasons why their offense has taken a step forward is the addition of James Harden. The Clippers traded for Harden in October and the results have been fantastic. Harden himself has been quite productive, averaging around 17 points, five rebounds, and nine assists per game on 63.8 percent true shooting. His scoring volume doesn’t pop off of the screen, but he has been an elite 3-point shooter, his scoring efficiency is fantastic, and he’s been an amazing playmaker.
Putting a player like this next to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, who are both having strong seasons, is a recipe for greatness. This trio has played together for a little over 868 minutes this season and the Clippers have had an offensive rating of 124.6 with these three players on the floor. With their three stars on the court, the Clippers have one of the most efficient offenses in basketball history.
Even when one of these players goes to the bench, the team continues to be insanely productive. The sample size of minutes played is much smaller when looking at lineups with just two of these players, but all of the evidence shows us that these three players have taken the Clippers’ offense to a whole new level.
The LA Clippers have been a great 3-point shooting team
Another reason why the LA Clippers have been so good offensively is because they have been elite in terms of shooting from outside the arc.
To be fair, the Clippers don’t shoot a ton of 3's. They rank 18th in 3's attempts per game and just 38.2 percent of their shot attempts are 3's. However, when they do shoot 3's, they are extremely effective.
Right now the Clippers are shooting 39.7 percent from 3, which leads the NBA, and they have four players who are shooting at least 40 percent from 3. Interestingly, they’ve been really good at shooting 3's off the catch and off the dribble, shooting well above average in both categories.
When you look at the Clippers’ basic stats, it’s not very clear why they have been so efficient on offense. They don’t take a ton of shots, their 2-point scoring isn’t that impressive, they don’t generate a lot of assists, and they have an average offensive rebound rate. However, their 3-point shooting is one of their more obvious strengths and that is a big reason why their offensive efficiency has been incredible.
The LA Clippers are elite in isolation, pick-and-rolls, and spot-ups
While the LA Clippers’ basic stats are not eye-popping, their offensive ability is extremely apparent when you look at how they are performing in different play types.
For example, the Clippers have one of the best isolation offenses in the league. They run isolations a league-best 12.4 percent of the time and average 1.07 points per play, the second-best mark in the league behind the Oklahoma City Thunder. This makes sense because Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and James Harden are awesome isolation players, and having so many players who can create efficient offense in one-on-one situations will lead to the team being extremely efficient in these situations.
The Clippers are also very efficient in pick-and-rolls. They rank top 10 in points per play from their pick-and-roll ball handlers and pick-and-roll roll men. Pick-and-rolls are an extremely efficient source of offense so the fact that the Clippers are effective with this play type further explains why their offense is productive.
The last play type that is worth mentioning here is spot-ups. Earlier we discussed how the Clippers are great at shooting 3's and this shows up in their efficiency on spot-ups. Since the Clippers run a lot of isolations, they don’t utilize spot-ups as much as a lot of other teams, but they are still one of the best teams in the league in these situations. The Clippers are averaging 1.14 points per play on spot-ups, the second-best mark in the NBA behind the Boston Celtics.
The LA Clippers’ offense should dominate in the playoffs
The LA Clippers have been wildly good offensively this season. The numbers make that abundantly clear but what’s really impressive is how their offense operates. The fact that the Clippers are extremely efficient on isolations and pick-and-rolls is very important because they will have to rely on these types of sets a lot in the playoffs.
Not only that, they have a lot of star talent that fit well together and have a ton of playoff experience.
All of this allows us to be confident that the Clippers’ offense can be dominant in the postseason, not just the regular season. If they continue to produce at a high level in the playoffs, we could see them make a deep playoff run and perhaps even contend for the 2024 NBA Championship. As we inch closer and closer to the start of the postseason, at some point, it's going to be time to recognize the Clippers as a true championship contender.