2007 NBA LA Clippers Playoff Hopes
Los Angeles' Other Pro Basketball Team Seeks Return to Postseason
Advice is given for each of the 30 NBA teams for improvement prior to the 2007 trade deadline. This installment: Los Angeles Clippers
Any discussion of this era’s version of the sad-sack Clippers begins with and mostly centers on the least-known superstar of the NBA, Elton Brand. He has no flair, no posse, and no attitude. He simply carries the team on his shoulders, as his numbers (21 points, 9 boards; top 10 of the league in field goal %, field goals made, offensive rebounds and blocks; top 20 in virtually every other offensive and defensive category) amply demonstrate. The Clippers are a sub .500 team without him, yet even with Brand it will be a fight to get back into the playoffs where they were able to advance to the second round last season. He has missed the last two games with back spasm problems, and if this lingers for too long or his performance is affected, say goodbye to the post-season this time around
It’s not as though the team is bereft of any other productive elements though. Rather, it appears that these elements don’t fit together for the best results. Corey Magette, who once was a consistent 20 ppg player, has been relegated to the sixth man spot and is having an off-year, especially from three-point range. Cuttino Mobley is having a positive year and provides mature leadership. The same cannot be said for Sam Cassell who, just as his MO from past stops indicates, shoots the team out of games far too much.
Chris Kaman received the big contract extension, and though he gives close to a double-double per night, he’ll never be a go-to-guy in the clutch as a great post player needs to be. Tim Thomas has been a *yawn* pickup – this guy is such an enigma, loads of talent, but where is the passion for excellence to match?
Coach Mike Dunleavy has stuck to a tight eight-man rotation this year, and he has received some help from Quinton Ross and especially Shaun Livingston. The latter is obviously the point guard of the future, but the argument here is that the switch needs to happen now – send Cassell to the pine and ride the ups and downs with the third-year player. He has the creativity and height to cause problems for most any other NBA team’s point guard. One player not being utilized properly here is Aaron Williams. He gives a different look than Kaman underneath, and he can spell Brand down the stretch as the star’s body needs to be protected from the 38+ minutes he has been logging so far if he is to stay healthy for the playoffs.
Trades don’t look very promising for the Clips. They were unwilling to part with Livingston to have a shot at getting Iverson (smart), and they don’t have many other chips available. No other team would want Thomas or Cassell, the obvious expendables from this vantage point. Maggette has some value, but where are you going to find another low post bruiser who can score – a clear need on this guard-heavy team - at this stage of the campaign? So they are caught in-betwixt and in-between. Dropping into the lottery could allow a Hawes or Wright to fall into their laps, but the chance of playoff success will be too tempting, so look for the club to fight to the finish with NO/OKC for the honor of the last playoff spot in the Western Conference.
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