With Paul George gone, and Kawhi Leonard still spared, there is reason to be worried about the Clippers' defense for the coming season. But management has found the right man to infuse a collective defensive mentality, and it is Jeff Van Gundy. At 62, the former coach of the Knicks and Rockets returned to the bench to assist Tyronn Lue, with the label of “defensive specialist”.
“We need to fix some things,” warns James Harden. “We want to be perfect. We have Jeff Van Gundy, who asks us every day to be perfect defensively, because that's the only chance we have. So that's our main focus and as you can see we've had a little preview of it [lundi soir]. This generated counter-attacking opportunities which we converted. So that’s what we’re going to rely on.”
Monday night's game was against the Mavericks, for the inauguration of Intuit Dome, and the Clippers finished with 20 interceptions. Over the entire preseason, which was certainly very particular, the Clippers averaged less than 100 points.
“There is always room for improvement,” notes Brian Shaw, another assistant to Tyronn Lue. “I think the most important thing is that Van Gundy gave them the means to be very aggressive and not make mistakes as long as they play hard. And like I said, they're aggressive. »
Versatility and mobility as strong points
To compensate for the departure of Paul George and the absence of Kawhi Leonard, the Clippers are banking on the versatility and mobility of their outside players, such as Derrick Jones Jr, Kris Dunn, Kevin Porter Jr, Terance Mann or Amir Coffey.
“We have versatility with players capable of playing in several positions, and defending in several positions. This should be one of our strong points” insists Brian Shaw, who recalls that the “defensive specialist” is often considered the “bad cop” in a staff.
“Van Gundy’s arrival was smooth,” he concludes. “The defensive specialist is usually seen as the bad guy because you have to be tough and demand that everyone takes responsibility. So, sometimes, when he's like that, we have to be the “good cops” to balance it out, but it's going well.”
