Mann could surprise me, I mean if he develops his 3-pt shot and starting taking them comfortably, it could really transform his game. He actually shot a decent percentage when he took them this year, just seems so hesitant and actually taking the shot was like a last option for him.

I’ve always felt like with PatBev, the Clips would benefit with having more a play maker on the court with him, leaving PatBev to be more a catch and shoot player. Mann, if plays to his potential, would be a near perfect fit for that spot, which I why I really hope he can show improvement in year 2. But we do have to temper our expectations as far as improvement. I think many time people expect the same leaps in improvement from like 23 year old 2nd round picks as they do from 19 year old lottery picks, just because they’re both “rookies”. In reality, very rarely do you see the huge leaps from the 2nd rounders.

BUT, the team didn’t necessarily suffer because of Lou’s individual trouble finding the net. Certainly, the team would have done better if he had finished his looks at higher rates, but Lou’s threatening presence on the court offensively and his ability to create for others still helped. The team had a 118.7 ORTG in the playoffs when Lou played, compared to a 114.4 ORTG overall and just 103.9 ORTG when he sat. 103.9 is bad.

Defensively, he set the team back, but only a bit–111.8 DRTG when he was on the court in the playoffs, compared to 110.1 overall and 103.0 when he sat (which is excellent).

The numbers look even better for Lou when he isn’t sharing lineups with Trez, who I think we can all acknowledge was the worst Clipper in these playoffs. When Lou was on the floor without Trez for 154 minutes this postseason, the Clippers had a 130.6 ORTG and a 98.8 DRTG, both phenomenal. Also interesting but possibly just correlational: Lou shot 37% from the field and 15% from deep when Trez played with him, and 49% from the field and 37% from deep when he was on the floor without Trez.

Lou is flawed and the triad of Pat, Lou, and Landry doesn’t fit perfectly together in terms of complementary skillset and ability to consistently provide the things LAC needs from their guards (Particularly Pat’s health and Lou’s defense). But it isn’t addition by subtraction. Lou is well above replacement-level at the things he does for the team, and the idea that the Clips should just get rid of him is foolish. Someone is going to be filling that role next season and if the Clippers don’t make sure it’s someone better than Lou, the team will be a lot worse for it.

Trez, on the other hand, is an “addition by subtraction” guy (at least in the playoffs, RS Trez obviously contributed). He was well below replacement-level in the playoffs, and it wasn’t just this year–the team was miserable with him on the floor last year against the Warriors as well. He scored better against GSW because they didn’t have a big, lengthy defense like most playoff teams do, but the team was horrible defensively with him anchoring them. And despite his individual production, the team’s offense got worse when he came on the floor too.

In a 6-game series where the Clippers lost 4 games, they actually won the minutes where Trez was on the bench. The only other player that was true for was Lou Williams, largely because the two played the vast majority of their minutes together in that series. But even then: Lou+Trez, -76 in 139 minutes; Lou alone, +7 in 37 minutes; Trez alone, -2 in 18 minutes (those last 2 are basically meaningless sample sizes).

I do think, had the season continued on as normal, we wouldn’t have seen them struggle like they did in the bubble. I feel like if you can use them to upgrade at PG or find guys that can give you more efficient scoring/defense, you do, but I don’t think Lou and Trez would be “additional by subtraction” by just like letting them walk like everyone wants to claim.

I think Lou will get shipped out and should no longer be a closer, but he’s less of the problem than you make it seem.

Mann is meh.