5th, 8th, 8th and finally… 17th. This was the classification of Clippers At ” Defensive Rating », season by season, since the arrival in town of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in the summer of 2019. Not necessarily optimal for a presumed title candidate, and even more so in 2022/23.
Therefore, if there is one thing you want Tyron Lue with a view to the next exercise, it is to see his men among the best defenses in the country again…
“ We must be in the Top 5 in defense “, warns already the coach of Los Angelesduring the training camp of his team. “ That’s what we want to focus on and that’s where we want to be at the end of the year. »
Words that can only be validated and supported Kawhi Leonardthe two-time Defender of the Year (2015, 2016).
“ We should all take responsibility for each other and be a top-five defense in the league once we do. Defense wins titles and we need to be on the same page if we want to be a top team “, explains the All-Star winger.
Kawhi Leonard must lead by example
What could greatly help the Clippers in their objective is to be able to count on the same Kawhi Leonard, but also Paul George, at 100% of their physical capacities…
“ When [Paul George] and Kawhi [Leonard] play, we are one of the four best offenses in the league, we can score points, we have players who can score », First notes Tyronn Lue, who had challenged his two leaders a few weeks earlier. “ But defensively, with the length, wingspan and athleticism that we have, we should be able to be a great defensive team. So that’s what we want to focus on after training camp. »
Irregular par excellence, this Los Angeles team can be reassured by noting that Denver recently finished as NBA champion despite the… 15th best efficiency in the league last season (113.5). The difference being that in the playoffs, the Nuggets raised their voice to enter the Top 5, in 4th place (110.2).
“ Our strength lies in our versatility and our ability to have players capable of playing in different positions, on each side of the pitch… »
Quite the opposite for the Clippers, who went from 113.6 to 122.5 points conceded over 100 possessions between the regular season and the playoffs against the Suns…
“ The first point is to be physical at all five positions. The second point is to finish the actions and capture the rebounds well, which is important because many teams are now regressing, they send their leaders to the rebound. So if you grab the rebounds, you can be a great defensive team », explains Tyronn Lue, when we ask him the keys to defending well in today’s NBA.
From Kawhi Leonard to Paul George, including Ivica Zubac, Terance Mann, Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, Kenyon Martin Jr. or even Russell Westbrook and Norman Powell: it is an understatement to say that Los Angeles has several elements capable of responding to the will of their coach and the philosophy of the latter.
“ I think our strength lies in our versatility and our ability to have players capable of playing in different positions, on each side of the pitch. But our area of improvement is that we have to be better defensively. We can’t be 12th [à la moyenne de points encaissés] with the players we have… », concludes Tyronn Lue.
Defensive rating : to evaluate the defensive efficiency of a franchise, we calculate the number of points conceded over 100 possessions.
