This is the seventh part in our series previewing each of the Timberwolves’ opponents and the upcoming season series.
Let’s take a look at the Los Angeles Clippers and how they’ll match-up with the Timberwolves during the 2016-17 season, in light of the season series from a year ago.
Tale of the tape: Last season, the Clippers proved to be one of the toughest match-ups for the Wolves, as Minnesota was only able to win one out of their four encounters against them. And even the sole victory (in the third game between the teams) was reached when Clippers had to play without Blake Griffin.
On the other hand, the absence of their second-best player didn’t seem to matter much when the teams faced each other for the last time in the season. In front of the home supporters at Target Center, the Timberwolves were completely chained on offense and held to just 79 points on the night.
The final scoreline may even have been worse, as Minnesota was sitting at merely 53 points after 3 quarters, but Clippers were in such clear control of the game that the last quarter was a mere formality.
What’s new? Clippers managed to retain their core from the previous seasons, so it’s probably safe to say that, with the addition of several decent role-players, the Clips will once again be aiming high.
Departures. The only significant departure was Jeff Green’s move to the Magic, as Green was a significant figure in the picture of last season’s Clippers, averaging slightly over 10 points per game.
The team also said its farewells to several members of the bench, including veteran point guard Pablo Prigioni, as well as C.J. Wilcox, Branden Dawson. And last but not least, Cole Aldrich, who signed with the Wolves and will, therefore, be playing for the opposing side of the match-up.
Arrivals. There are three substantial newcomers, each of whom had significant roles in the second units of the teams they’ve played for last season.
Marreese Speights is probably the most important acquisition. He is a different type of center than DeAndre Jordan and will, therefore, help broaden the scope of the team’s play. Clippers already have two of the league’s premier long-range specialists in J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford and playing them both alongside Speights may actually give LA the opportunity to adopt the Warriors-like fast-paced offense, based on multiple deadly threats from outside.
Brandon Bass. The former starter for the Magic and the Celtics has without a doubt let himself and many LA Lakers fans down last season. Coming from a playoffs team in Celtics, where Bass averaged over 11 PPG in 14/15, he was supposed to be one of the key pieces in a struggling Lakers team.
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Instead, his scoring average dropped to just seven points a game, he didn’t start a single game and missed the biggest number of games during the season since 2011-12. With Griffin and Jordan occupying the front court in the starting five, Bass is unlikely to be starting in the LAC either (unless injuries plague their season once again), however, his duo with Speights in the second unit should be pretty fun to watch. Provided, of course, that Bass won’t decline at the same rate this season as he did the one before.
Raymond Felton. Some say he’s an extremely underrated PG, others claim the opposite, noting Felton’s inconsistency and a truly unique skill set of being able to lose or give away the ball in the most awkward fashion.
The truth probably lies somewhere in between.
Either way, it is more than obvious that since Felton is basically replacing Prigioni as one of the backup point guards, Clippers have gained much more than they’ve lost in that position. Chris Paul is probably the most important piece to the team’s puzzle and we all saw, what happened in the playoffs last season, when he broke his hand in Game Four and Clippers were left with Austin Rivers as their starting and, basically, only valid option at point guard.
Felton is, therefore, an important insurance policy in case something happens to Paul again.
Clippers also acquired two rookies in Diamond Stone and Brice Johnson as well as veteran forward Alan Anderson.
What’s the same?
Chris Paul. While the whole league, media and fans are going crazy about Steph Curry and Russell Westbrook, Paul remains to be arguably the best true point guard in the league with one of the highest basketball IQs of all current NBA point guards.
Paul is one of the main reasons why Jordan, one of the most offensively-limited centers in the league, is playing as one of the best big men in the NBA. Paul is the brains of the team and without a doubt its most important player. He’ll probably once again be among the league leaders in both assists and steals, help the Clippers reach the playoffs without much effort and, yes, be overshadowed by Westbrook, Curry and Irving.
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The real question, however, is whether something will substantially change in the playoffs. If Paul and the Clippers don’t manage to reach the Western Conference Finals again, it’ll certainly start to look like some kind of curse. Or, at least, the end of the Doc Rivers Clippers as we know them.
Again, quite a lot may depend on the ability of key players to remain healthy. This has been a problem lately for another crucial piece: Blake Griffin. Over the past few seasons, he has certainly improved and will likely return with an even more advanced skill-set.
When he entered the league, the hype concerning his debut was somewhat similar to the current one about Ben Simmons. The degree to which Griffin has improved since then is a wonderful example for Simmons. Blake will likely remain to be the top option on offense and he’ll deliver.
Also, a substantial contribution to the team’s performance on both ends of the floor will again be expected from DeAndre Jordan — if only he worked more on his free throws. Either way, the Griffin-Jordan frontcourt will continue to be of the best in the entire league.
Snipers J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford will remain important in terms of spacing the floor, hitting three-pointers, and successfully assisting the leaders on both ends of the floor.
Finally, it will be interesting to see the development of Austin Rivers and how he’ll manage to compete for time against Felton and other guards. Last year he showed a lot of determination and will, leading and controlling the team in the playoffs after Paul suffered the injury. He has the potential to become a great player. Whether he’ll be able to achieve that , however, remains to be seen.
Key match-up: Andrew Wiggins vs Luc Mbah a Moute/Paul Pierce. Last year, in the three losses against the Clippers, Wiggins averaged 12 points on just 33 percent shooting.
In the single victory, however, Andrew shined brighter than anyone, scoring 31 points on 57 percent shooting from the field.
With small forward being probably the only position where the Timberwolves have a clear edge over Clippers, Wiggins will have to step-up and exploit that advantage if Wolves are to prevail against the opposition.
Prediction: Perimeter defense and offense may just be the crucial elements, ultimately deciding the outcomes. Clippers obviously have an edge over the Wolves in the number of confident, top tier three-point shooters.
Thus, making them work for their money is important to be able to stay in the games. You can’t really shut down Paul or Griffin, not completely at least, so limiting the efficiency of role-players is essential. On the other side of the floor, hitting shots from behind the arc could also be a game-changer.
An optimistic prediction would probably be winning the season series 2-1, particularly because two of the three encounters will take place at the Target Center. However, the Clippers are the stil the favorites in this match-up, so every Wolves player will need to be on his ‘A’-game. Otherwise, the Clippers will take advantage of Minnesota’s weaknesses and walk away the winners.
Next: Timberwolves To Add Ed Pinckney To Staff
The Timberwolves and Clippers will first meet on November 12th in Minnesota.