We are now 10 games into the Clippers’ season, which means it is time to take a step back and hand out some grades for each player’s performance so far. The Clippers are 6-4 with a hard schedule and without Kawhi Leonard, which means they have played above expectations, and therefore the majority of player grades will be positive as well. These grades will exclude deep bench players who have only appeared in two garbage time contests: Kobe Brown, Jordan Miller, and Bones Hyland.
The Starters
James Harden: B+
The System has lived up to his nickname this year. Harden’s production as a 35-year-old with a million NBA miles under his belt has been impressive, as he ranks second on the team in minutes (34.9), points (21.2), and rebounds (8.1, with no other Clipper outside of Zu above 3.9) while leading the team in assists (9.0) by a mile, with the next-highest teammates being Zu and Porter Jr at 2.8. Yes, he’s turning the ball over an insane and frustrating amount (5.2 per game, with at least 2 of those being on lazy dribbles or passes) and can’t hit a shot (29.6% on 8.1 threes and 42.4% on 8.5 twos). But the Clippers’ offense would almost certainly go from 21st to 30th without his efforts, and he’s even been better on defense this season for the most part. At this rate Harden will 100% be burnt out by Christmas, so let’s hope Kawhi Leonard does in fact return to the court sooner than later to take some of the load off of Uno’s shoulders.
Norm Powell: A+
What is there to say about Norm Powell at this point? Norm is scoring an astonishing 25.5 points per game in 34.2 minutes (both career highs) while shooting an even more astounding 49.4% from deep on 8.4 attempts per game. He simply can’t miss from behind the arc and is leveraging the gravity his shooting is providing him to get to the rim and finish or draw fouls on over pursuing defenders. Not only that, but Norm has been contributing above expectations elsewhere too. He is up to 3.4 rebounds per game – not much, perhaps, but it’s the second-best mark of Norm’s career. His 2.4 assists per contest are similarly not all that impressive but are a massive leap for Norm and represent a career high. He’s even been mostly solid on defense after being pretty bad on that end the past couple years. Simply put, Norm has been playing at a star-level, with advanced metrics backing up the eye test and raw numbers that he’s legitimately been one of the best players in the NBA so far this season. The three-point shooting will probably regress at some point, but as long as the process remains this good Norm will be a fantastic player for this team. I’ve been very wrong on him so far, and it’s been delightful.
Derrick Jones Jr.: A-
Derrick Jones Jr. remains exactly the player who the Clippers hoped they were getting his year. His perimeter defense has been phenomenal, and he is one of the primary drivers behind their 4th ranked start on that end. DJJ is connecting on 40.5% of his threes while launching a career high 3.7 per game, and is scoring over 10 points per game through the outside shooting as well as his above-the-rim exploits. The combination of shooting (albeit still on low volume), defense, and finishing makes DJJ a prototypical “3 and D” player, and he’s been a very smooth fit with the Clippers’ best players. When Kawhi eventually returns, it’s hard to imagine DJJ is the one who goes to the bench. He ranks 4th on the team in minutes (26.5) and scoring (10.3), tied for second in steals (1.1), and third in three-point makes (15) to this point.
Terance Mann: D+
I’m giving Mann a slightly better grade than Kevin Porter Jr. because he’s been a stronger defender and is scoring a tad more efficiently. That said, it has been an immensely disappointing first 10 games for Terance, who was given a starting spot at the outset of the season for the first time in his career and has not done much with the opportunity. The defense has mostly been solid, and while Terance and the Clippers might say that’s his main role, the Clippers need more from him on offense. 5.1 points in 23.2 minutes while shooting 16.7% from three and 48.6% from two won’t cut it, nor will the 1.8 three-point attempts per game. Terance provides defense and rebounding and a modicum of ballhandling and all of that has value, but if he’s not a threat on offense he can’t play even this much.
Ivica Zubac: A
Big Zu has slowed somewhat since his first few games, but only slightly. He’s still on pace for the best season of his career by a massive, massive margin, with his 16.4 points (previous high of 11.7), 12.7 (9.9), 2.8 assists (1.6), 0.8 steals (0.5), and 35.1 minutes (28.6) all placing as career highs. He’s taken on a higher usage role with aplomb, only sacrificing a bit of efficiency to take significantly more shots and playmaking duties. Most importantly, the defense and rebounding have been on point, and are the two biggest reasons the Clippers have the 4th best defense and are an above-average team on the glass despite being so small without Kawhi Leonard. Zu is currently a leading contender for Most Improved Player for good reason. Can he sustain this over 82 games? I still find it somewhat unlikely. But if he can, his recently signed extension will be a steal. Two-way big men do not grow on trees, and Zu has solidified himself as a very good starting center in this league.
The Reserves
Kris Dunn: A+
Ten games into his Clippers’ tenure, Kris Dunn has solidified himself as a true fan favorite. His ferocious perimeter defense, hustle, and timely scoring has made him beloved by fans in an incredibly short period of time. The offensive skills have been the most surprising element – we all knew he’d be great on defense, but I don’t think expectations on offense were high. Well, Dunn is chipping in 6.7 points in 21 minutes and is doing so while shooting 45.8% from three (2.4 attempts per game) and 69.6% from two. While he’s not creating a ton of shots, Dunn is averaging 2.2 assists to just 1 turnover, making him one of only three Clippers (Mann and Batum are the other two) with assist to turnover ratios of over 2:1. Finally, Dunn has been a solid rebounder, ranking 5th on the team in total rebound percentage. He just doesn’t make many mistakes, and his defense is so good it’s helped lift the whole team. I really just wished he played a lot more than 21 minutes per game.
Kevin Porter Jr.: D
Porter Jr.’s grade would have been lower if it weren’t for his 15 point, 6 rebound, 5 assist game against the Raptors last night – his first actual, legitimate good game of the season. Considering we are 10 games in, that indicates the overall quality we’ve seen from him so far. Porter’s efficiency is an incredibly bad 42.1% True Shooting, largely because he’s 4-23 from three and has only gotten to the line 13 times despite taking 87 shots. He only recently broke the 1:1 assist to turnover ratio with 2.8 to 2.5 averages respectively. The best things that can be said about Porter Jr. is that his defense has been better than expected (albeit not as good as the broadcast keeps saying) and his rebounding has been an actual positive. The shots will probably start dropping more than they have so far, but if the process – overdribbling, inability to create clean looks from anywhere, and a tendency to settle for midrangers – doesn’t improve, I’ll remain just as frustrated by his play as I have been so far. He’s been one of the worst veterans in the NBA by nearly every advanced metric, which is borne out by the eye test. Hopefully for my eyeballs’ sake if nothing else he continues to improve in the coming games.
Amir Coffey: A-
Everyone who had Amir Coffey as 6th on the Clippers in minutes and as the member of closing lineups multiple times through 10 games raise your hands. Now put them down, you liars. Amir has played a shockingly large role for the Clips early on as the guy whose spot in the rotation was considered the shakiest entering the season. And, honestly, it’s hard to quibble all that much (ok, him playing more minutes than Kris Dunn and Nic Batum is kind of ludicrous but that’s more about those guys than Amir). Amir is shooting 53.6% from three (15-28) thus far and is playing by far the best defense of his career. He remains an astoundingly bad rebounder and a confoundingly heads-down driver who almost seems to refuse to pass as a funny bit (0.6 assists in his 22.9 minutes), but as a “3 and D” player he’s been excellent.
Nic Batum: B
Nico has gotten off to a somewhat slow start shooting the ball, as he’s at 29.2% from three (7-24) so far. That is, of course, a tiny sample size, with even two consecutive makes putting him back in the mid-30s. Despite that, he continues to do all the little things that we’ve come to expect of Nico, with the most important being playing small-ball center because Kai Jones (see below) is simply not an NBA caliber big man. Nico is averaging 2 assists in his 18.3 minutes per game despite barely touching the basketball, a sign of his ability to make quick reads in the flow of offense a step ahead of the defense. I have zero doubt the shot will come around soon, but even without the shots dropping teams respect Nico, which means the spacing is good with him out there anyway. As always, my main complaint is that I just think he should be playing more, especially with Kawhi out. Nico’s ability to both defend out on the perimeter and serve as the last line of help on the interior remains remarkable for a 6’8 player of his age.
Kai Jones: F
After playing 13 minutes in the season opener against the Suns, Kai has cracked 10 minutes just one other game, against the Blazers, and it’s not a surprise that outing was a disappointing loss. Frankly, Kai Jones is not an NBA quality basketball player right now. He plays very hard, which means I don’t like being harsh on him like this, but he just does not offer anything at a plus level: he’s a bad rebounder, an abysmal defensive player who is constantly out of position, and a limited offensive player who can’t set proper screens. Kai has played in nine games, and in four of them has played exclusively in the first half in stints of less than five minutes. It does not make much sense to keep trotting him out there for a few minutes, and I really hope the Clippers fully pivot away from him even with Mo Bamba out. He’s just very bad at this point of his career.
Bonus, The Coaching Staff: A-
There are quibbles one can make with the Clippers’ coaching staff, whether it be their dedication to Kai Jones and Kevin Porter Jr. or the team’s inability to run any offense in the 4th quarter. However, there’s zero doubt they have had this team ready to compete every game, and they have gotten them to fully, completely buy in on defense. The Clippers are not the most talented roster in the NBA by a longshot, but have gone 6-4 against a difficult schedule with only one truly bad loss and multiple very impressive wins, and while the credit for that must mostly go to the players, the coaching staff deserves their flowers as well.