Sunday, September 2, 2018

Season preview: Los Angeles Clippers

STAYING: Patrick Beverley, Avery Bradley, Jawun Evans, Danilo Gallinari, Montrezl Harrell, Tobias Harris, Wesley Johnson, Boban Marjanovic, Milos Teodosic, Sindarius Thornwell and Louis Williams.

ADDED: Angel Delgado (Seton Hall), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Kentucky), Marcin Gortat (Washington), Luc Mbah a Moute (Houston), Johnathan Motley (Dallas), Jerome Robinson (Boston College) and Mike Scott (Washington).

GONE: DeAndre Jordan (Dallas), Sam Dekker (Cleveland), Austin Rivers (Washington) and CJ Williams (Minnesota)

STRENGTHS: Depth … Solid players at all five positions … They can really put together good second units … Perimeter defense is going to be quite something with Patrick Beverley, Avery Bradley and Luc Mbah a Moute there … They will probably hang their hat on D more than they used to in previous seasons … This proved to be a resilient bunch after the Blake Griffin trade, remaining a playoff candidate till the very end to the surprise of many … They have strong shooting, rebounding and defense at the forward spots … Tobias Harris has gotten a bit better every year he’s spent in the league … Can he take another step forward and become an All-Star option? … Lou Williams wowed everybody with torrid scoring off the bench … If he can keep it up, that’s sensational news for the Clippers.

WEAKNESSES: No star power … There’s a lot of fine players in L.A., yet no face of the franchise as of now after the departures of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan within a year … In terms of athleticism, they are certainly not an elite squad anymore … Health might be an issue … Projected starters Bradley, Beverley and Danilo Gallinari come off an injury-riddled season in which they combined for only 78 games … For Gallo specifically, staying healthy has been a challenge throughout his career … He’s missed 40 percent of games since he entered the NBA.

PREDICTION: 3rd in the Pacific Division, 11th in the Western Conference.

SALARIES:



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