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The Los Angeles Clippers had a legitimate chance at taking home the Larry O’Brien Trophy during the 2014-15 season. In fact, they were just one win away from a Western Conference Finals appearance, but a crucial collapse in the conference semifinals have them as hungry as ever for a 2016 NBA Championship.
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Head Coach: Doc Rivers
Conference: West
2014-15 Record: 56-26
Odds To Win 2016 NBA Championship: 12/1
Team Strengths
The L.A. Clippers know how to put the ball in the basket. As fundamental as that sounds, they did it to the tune of 106.7 points per contest last season — the second-best mark in the entire Association.
Part of the reason this team scores as well as it does is because of its pace. It ran the 10th-fastest pace last season, but being on the low end of that top-10 group proves that efficiency was much more important than maniacal speed.
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The Clips finished last season second in terms of field-goal percentage and third in three-point percentage.
Team Weaknesses
Until proven otherwise, we’re going to keep hammering home one simple notion: Depth is a concern for the Clippers.
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Although that area should be much improved this season, we can’t ignore that Doc Rivers essentially abandoned his entire bench at one point or another last year. Paul Pierce at starting 3 will help. So should Lance Stephenson and Josh Smith coming off the pine if they can perform with an semblance of consistency — especially late in the year.
But when it comes down to it, point guard and center — quite possibly the two most important positions on the floor — are unproved. Austin Rivers showed flashes last year, while Cole Aldridch has potential as well.
However, we need to see it happen in front of our eyes before we can claim that depth is an actual asset and not a hinderance in this group’s quest for a title.
Why They Can Win 2016 NBA Championship
As soon as DeAndre Jordan declared his intention to return to the Clippers, this group got its championship swag back.
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Without Jordan on board, the team would have been completely lost at center. The big man has yet to establish himself as a reliable option unless it’s a play above the rim, but his defensive presence is about the only thing this team has going at the rim on that end of the floor.
If L.A. can continue to score at the pace it did last year, it’s going to be in good shape. If it can do that when the starters hit the pine, it’s going to be a contender unlike what we’ve ever seen from this franchise.
This group currently sits in fifth when it comes to championship odds, as any team led by Chris Paul and Blake Griffin will be a dangerous squad on any given night.
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