With the 2021 NBA Draft just a few days away, we are doing another mock draft roundup of major sites’ picks for the Clippers before our final roundup the day of the draft. Without further ado, here are five sites’ picks for the Clippers and snippets of the explanations.

ESPN: Day’Ron Sharpe

The Clippers might look to add depth at center.. Sharpe has helped himself in the pre-draft process, shedding weight, showcasing much better floor-spacing potential than previously advertised, and impressing in private interviews…

The Athletic: Rokas Jokubaitis

The player: Jokubaitis is a combo guard with exceptional feel for the game and the ability to play out of ball screens… The key for him will be athletic translation and consistently gaining separation, but he plays such an unhurried style of basketball with poise that I think he’ll probably … at least carve out a solid bench role in the NBA.

The fit: The Clippers love toughness and are competing for a title… one avenue open to them given their current contract situation could be to stash a player they like overseas for another year to try to re-shape their roster for this season.

Bleacher Report: Tre Mann

Mann is more scorer than table-setter, but the Clippers might have enough passers to make it work…

CBS Sports: Ayo Dosunmu

Ayo Dosunmu improved enough as a shooter in his third season at Illinois to lock up a spot in the first round… he can be a big-scoring guard who could provide depth in the Clippers’ backcourt and help them win immediately.

The Ringer: Jared Butler

Generating offense without Kawhi Leonard will be of the utmost importance for the Clippers. Butler could bring scoring and playmaking off the bench..

Overall, this is a mixed bag. I would love Butler, and would be fine with Dosunmu and Mann, though neither are among my very top choices at 25. Unfortunately, the two best sourced of these (by far), are ESPN and the Athletic, and both of them have absolutely baffling selections. Remember, these are not the picks that they would make, but the ones they think the Clippers *will* make.

Sharpe is a high-energy, strong-rebounding young big man from North Carolina. Unfortunately, the positives mostly stop there – he doesn’t have much in the way of touch or offensive skill outside of finishing at the basket, nor is he highly athletic. The basketball instincts aren’t bad, but the decision-making and raw skills are. As a flier in the 2^nd round, maybe from the mid-30s on, he’d be a fine pick. ESPN has him as the 31^st best prospect in the draft, the Ringer at 36, the Athletic at 40, and Cerebrodraft at 34. At 25, over guys like Mann, Bones Hyland, Jaden Springer, and Deuce McBride (all available in that ESPN mock), he’d be a bad look. Those guys will help sooner, and all probably have higher upside as well. While fan opinion makes no impact on the draft, I can’t imagine fans would be happy at another long-term, raw center pick in the late 1st round.

The Jokubaitis pick might be worse from a value perspective. I can’t claim to know anything about Rokas. As someone who does watch Euroleague from time to time, I’ve probably seen him play a bit at Zalgiris, but not intently. I have no information on him. However, in terms of rankings, the Athletic is highest on him at 29 on their big board. He’s at 42 on Cerebrodraft, 43 on ESPN, and 49 on the Ringer. Picking him at 25 would be a massive reach – if the Clippers want him that badly, they could probably buy the 38^th pick and snag him there. He might be really good, and the Clippers could want him desperately, but it seems unlikely that anyone else would take him that high.

That about does it for this mock draft roundup of the Clippers’ 2021 picks, but expect a ton of updates to come in these mock drafts over the next few days. Hopefully picks like Butler and Mann will become a bit more prevalent as the 2021 NBA Draft approaches.

2021 Clippers-Focused NBA Mock Draft Roundup: Four Days Out
Robert Flom

The Clippers fell to the Kings 113-110 despite a strong bench performance due to a slow Kawhi game and a dominant outing by De’Aaron Fox. For a full recap of the Clippers’ loss to the Kings, read on below.

Summary

The first quarter moved extremely quickly, with both teams pushing the ball up and down the court. While the Clippers’ starting unit was mostly cold, the Kings couldn’t get any outside shots to fall, which kept the Clippers attached. Still, the Kings built a small lead, mostly behind De’Aaron Fox drives to the rim. The Clippers began playing a bit beter when the bench unit came in, buoyed by the energy and dfens of Terance Mann. While Marcus Morris took three straight bad shots when he checked in, he then made a catch and shoot three and turnaround jumper that put the Clippers ahead to end the quarter.

The start of the second quarter went well, too. Lou Williams looked invigorated, repeatedly attacking rookie Kyle Guy to score or get into the paint and find shooters. Ivica Zubac continud to anchor the defnese, walling off the paint and snaring several rebounds. Unfortunately, Reggie Jackson helped a bit too far off of Kings shooters, and they were able to nail a couple corner threes. The Clippers sunk more with the starters back in, with the culprit, shockingly, being Kawhi Leonard. Leonard forced too much offense, and missed a bevy of jumpers. The Kings used those misses to get out in transition, and seized a small lead entering halftime.

The Clippers made a quick run out of halftime, forcing a Walton timeout, but the Kings came right back on a run of their own to retake the lead. While shooting well enough, Reggie Jackson was jus doing far too much, taking several shots and wasting the shot clock by overdribbling. Meanwhile, Buddy Hield got hot on the other end, and the Kings were able to grow their lead a bit. Order was restored offensively with the return of Lou Williams, who immediately found Ibaka for a dunk and then got to the line. Terance Mann chipped in too with some offensive rebounds, and a foul on a Marcus Morris three put the Clippers ahead going into the final period.

The 4^th quarter started inauspiciously, with Reggie barfing up a bad midrange jumper. Fortunately, Zu was there for the putback. That heme continued over the next couple minutes, with the Clippers missing jumper after jumper but Zu giving them life with offensive rebounds. At the other end, Tyrese Haliburton drained a couple threes, keeping the Kings afloat. However, when De’Aaron Fox came back, the game shifted towards the Kings. Fox made two threes when Jackson helped too far off him, and then began attacking the paint. Kawhi Leonard could not stay in front of him, and Fox’s crafting finishing enabled him to score around Zu. On the other end, after a long night, Kawhi was finally able to get a couple buckets to drop, but it was too late, and missed threes by Lou and then Batum finally put a cap on the Clippers’ run. That sentence is a perfect recap in miniature, as the Clippers made just eight threes on 28.6% shooting while the Kings made 10 on 34.5% shooting. Not a big difference, but it swung the game.

Notes

Kawhi Tired: This was probably Kawhi Leonard’s worst performance of the season, and one of his worst as a Clipper. He scored 20 points, but they came on 21 shots, and dished out only two assists. He also repeatedly failed to stay in front of De’Aaron Fox, and while Kawhi’s specialty is bigger wings, it would have been nice if he was a bit better on that end. The 10 rebounds were great, but the Clippers needed a much better performance with Paul George out, and didn’t get it. A lot of Kawhi’s jumpers were short, indicating some fatigue, so it’s great that the Clippers will now have a couple days off until their next game Wednesday night.

Lou-Mann-Zu Great: If there’s been a bright spot to the past couple weeks of patchy Clippers play, it’s been the improved performance of their bench. Lou Williams (23 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists), Ivica Zubac (12 points, 14 rebounds), and Terance Mann (6 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals) were the Clippers best players in this one. Mann was the Clippers’ best perimeter option defensively, proving the only player capable of staying in front of Haliburton and Fox on at least a part-time basis. Zu gobbled up rebounds, created second-chance opportunities, and made all his free throws while playing solid defense around the rim. And Lou Williams, while he did take a couple bad shots and had a few sloppy turnovers, was also the only Clipper creating looks for others or consistently getting downhill in the halfcourt. All three guys look rejuvenated, and it has come at a great time with George and Beverley out.

Serge and Luke Struggling: Conversely, Serge Ibaka and Luke Kennard have continued to struggle. Neither of them were bad, per se, but the Clippers need a lot more from both of them. Serge’s outside shooting has been shaky – he only took one three in this one, and has taken only 10 in the past four games. If he’s going to be out there to space the floor, he should be shooting more threes. Kennard, meanwhile, came out aggressive again, scoring six points in the first quarter, but then faded the res of the way, scoring only two more points and playing a mere 19 minutes. Now, he probably should have played a bit more at the expense of Reggie Jackson, but while Jackson at least attempts shots, Kennard is too frequently invisible on the court – when he’s not getting blown by on defense. It’s fine to be patient with both guys, but a starting lineup change (at least while PG and Beverley are out) might be warranted at this point. As mentioned elsewhere in the recap, Reggie Jackson was also bad against the Kings despite a decent statline, and the Clippers could look at shifting him back to the bench as well.

Fox All Star: De’Aaron Fox looked phenomenal all game, pouring in 36 points on 25 shots and dishing out 7 assists to just a single turnover. No Clipper outside of Mann was able to stay in front of him at all, and he seemingly made every shot he took around the basket while also hitting a couple big threes. The Western Conference is a crowded one for All Stars, but Fox deserves real consideration for a Kings team that is now over two games over .500 and is one of the hotter teams in the West at the moment. Good for the Kings!

That’s about all I have for this recap of the Clippers’ 113-110 loss to the Kings. Be sure to check out the Kings Herald for the Kings’ perspective, and enjoy the Super Bowl safely tonight!

Clippers vs Kings Recap: Clips Fall 113-110
Robert Flom

When a team goes from a surprising underdog story to the NBA’s championship favorites, quite a few things change. Perhaps the most prevalent of these changes is the microscopic criticism that each and every player is placed under. We have seen this happen to many players on the Clippers, but none more than Lou Williams. We went from “Lou Williams is a legend” to “Do the Clippers have a Lou Williams problem?” in no time flat.

Lou was the leader of last year’s team that surprised everybody by not only making the playoffs, but taking two games off of the juggernaut Warriors. Both in that series and in the regular season, Lou led the Clippers in PPG, APG, and USG%. He had the ball in his hands far more than any other Clipper, and that’s the way it was drawn up. He was the guy. Night in and night out, Lou found a way to get it done for a squad that lacked top-tier star power.

Fast forward just a year later, and many across the league are questioning whether or not the Clippers have a “Lou Williams problem.” This stems from the reality that I mentioned earlier, where each and every player on a perceived contender is subject to intense criticism. Often times this criticism is overblown and lacking statistical support, and when it comes to Lou, that is indeed the case. While there are questions that need to be answered, the idea that the Clippers have a “Lou Williams problem” is simply wishful thinking from the opposition.

As expected, Lou has seen a decrease in his role this season. With the additions of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, such a development was guaranteed to happen, but context is essential when examining Lou’s downgraded role on the Clippers. On the surface, it does not look like much has changed with Lou and his role on the team. His 15.2 FGA per game last season are only down to 14.7 FGA per game this season. While Lou isn’t the first option on the roster anymore, he does play the majority of his minutes as the first option. Only 250 of Lou’s minutes this season have come with both Kawhi and PG on the floor, while 750 of them have come with both Kawhi and PG off the floor. This is why his total FGA per game has hardly changed from last season to this season.

It takes a little more statistical digging to find the actual decrease in Lou’s role, because while it may not seem like much has changed on the surface, it is the magnitude of Lou’s role that has seen the biggest decrease.

Last season, Lou was 2nd in the NBA in FGA in the 4th quarter, only behind LeBron James. His late game dominance was well covered, as he seemed to always find a way to get it done in the clutch. It was mentioned earlier that his total FGA per game have hardly changed, but rather the magnitude of these shots that have seen the biggest decrease. The stats support this, because Lou went from 2nd in the NBA in 4th quarter FGA (6.0) last season to 17th (4.6) in that same category this season.

Lou’s 4th quarter magic last season was not only impressive because of how and where he was doing it, but because it ranked amongst the NBA’s biggest stars. His 7.6 PPG in the 4th quarter ranked 5th in the entire NBA, only behind LeBron, Harden, Kemba, and Giannis. As previously mentioned, his 4th quarter FGA’s have taken a hit with the addition of Kawhi and PG, but what is remarkable about Lou is that a decreased role has not meant decreased production.

Lou’s ability to come through in the clutch has not decreased one bit from last season’s historic campaign. In the 2018-19 season, Lou averaged 2.8 PPG in the clutch on 45.9% from the field and 37.5% from deep. Despite playing along two superstars this season, Lou is still averaging 2.8 PPG in the clutch, but he’s doing it on better efficiency. His 47.8% from the floor and 42.1% clip from deep in the clutch both rank higher than his marks last season. He is no longer the main option, but that hasn’t caused his clutch time production to go down one bit.

The NBA considers clutch time the last five minutes of a game with the score within five points. As good as Lou is in those spots, he gets even better when the stakes get higher. In the last minute of games separated by five points or less, Lou is 8/12 from the field and 4/6 from deep this season. Among all players who took at least 12 of these shots, Lou’s 66.7% from the field was the best in the entire NBA.

Scoring the ball is far from Lou’s only offensive capability. What separates him from a guy like Jamal Crawford is his playmaking ability. This season Lou averaged 5.7 APG, making him the only player to do so while starting less than 10 games. This is just one of the many reasons why Lou is so valuable to this Clippers team, despite what the narrative might suggest.

Until this point, everything that has been discussed is been relative to Lou’s on ball dominance; however, since the addition of Reggie Jackson, Lou has seen an increased amount of time off the ball. The duo of Lou Williams and Reggie Jackson logged 112 minutes together before the season was suspended. They boasted a 121.7 ORTG, 98.8 DRTG, and 22.9 total NTRG. That NTRG was the highest among any Clippers’ duo that played at least 100 minutes together.

Perhaps the biggest reason why this duo thrived the way it did was because of how good Lou Williams is off the ball. This season, Lou knocked down 42.5% of his catch and shoot threes. Since the addition of Reggie Jackson, that clip ascended to an insane 60% mark.

Quite a bit has been explored thus far, and all of it has been about Lou’s offensive dominance; however, the reason why many consider the Clippers to have a “Lou Williams problem” is because of his poor defense. When Clipper fans talk about Lou’s clutch time offensive dominance, a Clippers hater will counter with his clutch time defensive weaknesses. These are real concerns, but they have real answers.

Unsurprisingly, Lou is one of the Clippers’ worst defensive players. His 106.6 DRTG is 2nd worst on the team, only behind Shamet. There are multiple ways the Clippers can handle Lou’s poor defense, and the first is to monitor who he is playing alongside. While Lou’s near 107 DRTG is 2nd worst on the team, when he’s playing alongside Pat Bev, it drops to a 102.0 mark. When Kawhi is added into the mix, the trio of Lou, Bev, and Kawhi has a 92.7 DRTG. That is a very stellar mark, and in fact, of every 3-man lineup that has played at least 240 minutes together this season, the trio of Lou, Bev, and Kawhi, has the 4th best DRTG.

If having Lou alongside Bev and Kawhi doesn’t tank the defense, then why is Lou’s individual DRTG so poor? The answer is that the guard and forward he plays the majority of his minutes alongside are not Kawhi and Bev, but rather Shamet and JaMychal Green. For reference, Lou has logged 876 minutes alongside Green, and 754 minutes alongside Shamet. In comparison, he’s played 719 minutes alongside Kawhi, and just 535 alongside Pat Bev. The answer to why this is the case is obvious: Lou comes off the bench, so he will naturally play more minutes alongside other reserves. However, the difference in his ability to hide defensively with Kawhi and Bev on the floor as opposed to when they’re off the floor is staggering.

It was mentioned earlier that the trio of Bev, Lou, and Kawhi have a stellar DRTG of 92.7; however, the trio Lou, Sham, and J-Myke have a DRTG of 105.5. While that isn’t awful, it is significantly worse than the mark put up by Bev, Lou, and Kawhi. This is why I don’t think Lou’s defense in the payoffs is going to be as big of an issue as it’s being made out to be. Come playoff time, there will hardly be any full bench lineups. Instead, one or both of Kawhi and PG will be on the floor at all times. Alongside those two, Lou has a 99.3 DRTG, which is once again a stellar mark.

While these are advanced stats, they tell a simple story. When Lou is playing alongside multiple elite defenders, he is able to hide on defense. When he is paired with other mediocre to poor defenders, that is not the case. Come playoff time, the majority of Lou’s minutes will no longer come without one or both of Kawhi and PG on the floor. This is a very real and statistically supported way for the Clippers to mitigate Lou’s poor defense, but it is not the only way that they can do so.

What about the game against the Lakers? The Clippers were fully healthy, yet LeBron still exposed Lou. Yes, yes he did. First, Laker fans, LeBron did not make some groundbreaking discovery about Lou’s poor defense. He did a great job at exploiting it, but he is far from the first player to do so. Regardless, this is obviously a problem for the Clippers. In order to hoist the Larry O.B. trophy, they almost certainly have to go through LeBron and the Lakers. While Lou’s defense is problematic, it isn’t the fatal flaw that it has been made out to be.

It was previously mentioned that there are multiple ways for the Clippers to mitigate Lou’s poor defense. The first was to pair him with elite defenders. The Clippers have done that, but it did not work against LeBron and the Lakers; however, the solution to this problem is simple. Take Lou off the floor. Lou is great. He can take over games, make big shots, and is undeniably clutch; however, with the way this roster is constructed, the Clippers don’t need him out there at all times. If Lou is being abused defensively by somebody like LeBron, he does not need to be out there.

Lou’s likely replacement in the closing lineup would be Patrick Beverley. Against the Lakers this season, Bev had a 98.4 DRTG, while Lou’s was 102.5. Unsurprisingly, Pat Bev is defensively superior to Lou Williams. With the offensive firepower that the Clippers have, it allows them to sacrifice Lou’s offensive ability late in games for a better defensive option like Pat Bev. What makes this such an easy decision for the Clippers is that what Bev brings offensively is far superior to what most would believe. Bev actually had a higher ORTG than Lou this season. While that can largely be attributed to Bev playing more minutes alongside Kawhi and PG than Lou did, there is truth to the idea that Bev is underrated offensively.

Pat Bev is perfect for the role he plays alongside two ball dominant superstars. He shoots 42% on his wide-open threes, which are shots he is likely to get, and 40% on catch and shoot threes, which are also shots he frequently see. This idea that the Clippers swapping Lou for Bev late in games is a massive drop-off offensively is simply false. Pat Bev is a fantastic offensive player, and is perfect alongside Kawhi and PG.

Regardless of what the numbers show, the Clippers don’t need three closers out there every night. While it is a luxury to have multiple guys who can close out a game, if one of them is getting exposed on the other end, replacing him with a better defensive option is the correct move. Do the Clippers have a Lou Williams problem? I think not. Come playoff time, I trust Doc will make the right call.

213Hoops is an independently owned and operated L.A. Clippers blog by Clippers fans, for Clippers fans. If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at $1 a month and support from readers like you goes a long way towards helping us keep 213Hoops sustainable, growing, and thriving.

Do The Clippers Have A Lou Williams Problem?
Joey Linn