Well, the first day of free agency has come and gone, and it was an eventful one for the Clippers. Robert Flom and Lucas Hann are here to break it all down on TLTJTP: the Marcus Morris re-signing, Montrezl Harrell going to the Clippers, bringing back Patrick Patterson, and the departure of JaMychal Green to Denver. They then discuss what avenues the Clippers have to bolstering their roster in the rest of free agency, and where they should look to go from here.

Check out the pod here! Be sure to give a five star rating on whatever platform you listen to us on, and give us feedback on the Clippers first day of free agency in the comments below!

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.

TLTJTP: Clippers First Day of Free Agency & Next Steps
Robert Flom

Now that the Clippers’ 2020 season has reached its disappointing end, 213Hoops will work through the roster player-by-player for our “Exit Interview” series. Today’s exit interview features starter Marcus Morris.

Basic Information

Height: 6’8″

Weight: 218

Position: Forward

Age: 31

Years in NBA: 9

Key Stats: In 19 regular season and “seeding” games for LAC, played 28.9 minutes per game and averaged 10.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists while shooting 42.5% from the field and 31% from three. In 43 games for the New York Knicks before being traded, averaged 19.6 points per game and shot 43.9% from three.

In 13 playoff games for the Clippers, played 29.8 minutes per game while averaging 11.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists, shooting 50.5% from the field and 47.5% from three. Notably, shot 63.3% from deep in the Clippers’ 7 playoff wins and 31% from deep in their 6 playoff losses.

Contract Status: Unrestricted free agent this off-season, coming off of a one-year, $15,000,000 contract last season. The Clippers have Morris’ non-bird rights, meaning they can give him a contract for up to 120% of his prior salary–$18,000,000–with a maximum length of 4 years and maximum raises of 5%. This means his largest possible contract is 4 years, $77.4 million.

Expectations

It took a long time for Marcus Morris to end up with the Clippers. Remember, he nearly joined the team as a free agent last summer before instead agreeing to terms with the Spurs, then backing out of that agreement to accept a larger, one-year deal in New York.

The Clippers instead helped the Miami Heat acquire Jimmy Butler by absorbing Moe Harkless’ contract, and got a first-round pick for their troubles. That pick became part of the record-setting Paul George package, while Harkless was eventually flipped–along with Jerome Robinson, the Clippers’ 2020 1st round pick (27th), swap rights for the Clippers’ 2021 1st round pick (unlikely to convey), and Detroit’s 2021 2nd round pick–for Morris at the trade deadline. It wasn’t a back-breaking cost for the Clippers, but simply signing Morris in free agency would have allowed them to hold on to two of the team’s few remaining draft assets.

Morris’ primary contribution to the Clippers was expected to be his three-point shooting. While his 44% from deep in New York this year was clearly an outlier, he’s been a solid 37% shooter from deep over his career and had consistently been more efficient in the playoffs, a major upgrade over a non-shooter in Harkless who had notoriously been left alone to miss open corner threes in prior playoff runs with Portland. Additionally, Morris is capable of creating his own shot off the dribble–although given his often poor shot selection and tendency to be a ball-stopper with the Knicks, that was a bit more of a fear than positive expectation.

Despite Morris’ reputation, the Clippers didn’t figure to improve much defensively by acquiring Morris for Harkless, who is a very good defender in his own right. But the two are different–Harkless is quicker and lankier to contain speedy guards, while Morris brings a strength advantage that’s more effective against bigger forwards. It could pretty easily be argued that Harkless is the better defender in a vacuum, but was slightly more redundant than Morris on a team that already had Patrick Beverley, Paul George, and Kawhi Leonard to throw at opposing guards.

Then, there’s the non-basketball stuff. From a propensity for trash talk and flagrant fouls to his sexist comments after a game this season, Morris can cause distractions. While Doc Rivers repeatedly emphasized that he liked the “edge” Morris brought to the team–and I agree that good teams need supporting players who bring toughness and physicality–it cost the Clippers at times. In game 6 against the Dallas Mavericks, Morris took himself out of the game with a first-quarter flagrant foul, and in game 5 against Denver, Nuggets forward Paul Millsap credited a hard foul and trash talk from Morris with inspiring the momentum that forced a game 6.

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Reality

For a player who received as much dramatic consideration as a potential x-factor for the Clippers, both from his supporters and detractors, Morris’ performances for the team were ultimately relatively quiet, and remarkably predictable. He didn’t emerge as the team’s third-best player as some expected due to his offensive output in New York, but he stayed far away from making a negative impact that others feared with selfish offensive play.

Offensively, Morris was even more efficient than expected in a very limited role–over half of his playoff shot attempts were from three, where he made a lethal 47.5%, including 60% from the corners. He went from taking 4.8 pull-up two-point jumpers per game before coming to the Clippers to just 2.8 in the playoffs. Most of the time, it felt as though Morris’ low-quality shots came late in the shot clock, where his ability to get off a comfortable contested look was (relatively) welcome. Overall, the 1-2 questionable plays he made each game may have stuck out for anyone who was watching with worries about his shot selection, but they were no more egregious than any other player.

Defensively, he made a massive impact in the first round as he surprisingly emerged as the team’s best option against Mavericks star Luka Doncic. According to NBA.com’s tracking data, Doncic shot just 8-23 with Morris as his primary defender, scoring 20 points and, significantly, only finding one assist as Morris’ ability to use his strength to stay in front of Luka’s drives enabled the other Clippers to stay home on shooters. But in the second round, Morris was a non-factor defensively, struggling with crafty veteran Paul Millsap, who baited Morris into fouls, overpowered him in the post, and punished him for helping with open threes. In total, tracking data shows Millsap with 30 points on 10-19 shooting against Morris.

Then, of course, there’s the aforementioned non-basketball stuff. While each mistake was unnecessary and unhelpful, they both ultimately feel like minor sub-plots to me. Morris took himself out of game 6 vs Dallas, but the Clippers won the game anyway–if they’d lost, he would have likely been my primary culprit. Similarly, while his extracurriculars with Millsap may have inspired Millsap to fight back in the third quarter, the combination of LAC’s cold shooting, DEN’s hot shooting, and poor coaching all played a bigger role in the team’s game 5 collapse… and their game 6 collapse… and their game 7 collapse. It’s fair to call Morris’ antics foolish and bad process, but it seems extreme to blame a technical foul in the second quarter of game 5 for the rest of the series, given the far more obvious and egregious factors that directly produced those results.

Lastly, I want to touch on the win/loss splits for Morris. He shot 63% from deep in the team’s 7 playoff wins, but just 31% from deep in their losses. I think some folks find that number and think they’ve found a “gotcha!” stat–that when the Clippers lost in the playoffs, it was because Morris went cold. But that’s more than a little short-sighted. These numbers actually point to the lack of shooting LAC got from the rest of their role players. Nobody is going to get hot every single night (imagine if he had shot 63% in all 13 games instead of just in the 7 wins–it would make him the best 3-point shooter of these playoffs by a wide margin, an unreasonable expectation). But Morris was, for the most part, the only Clipper role player who ever got hot. If he wasn’t hitting, nobody was. That says a lot more about Landry Shamet (35.7% from three in the playoffs and just 22.2% in the second round) and Lou Williams’ (23.5% from three in the playoffs and 14.8% in the second round) inability to make floor-spacing contributions than it does Morris’. You’ll take a 47.5% average from three any day.

Future with Clippers

Since Morris changed teams as a free agent last summer to sign his current one-year deal, the Clippers don’t have his bird rights–but they have his non-bird rights (non-bird: 1 year, 20% raise; early bird: 2 years, 75% raise; full bird: 3 years, any raise), meaning they can pay him up to $18,000,000 in starting salary next season. For a non-star veteran in a summer where money is tight around the league, that will be more than enough for Morris. And for the Clippers, who have other needs to address and just the taxpayer mid-level exception to add replacement talent, letting Morris walk would mean foolishly losing a positive (if imperfect) contributor for nothing. The team is well above the cap and would not be able to sign an equivalent player (for example, Jerami Grant–who has a player option–and Jae Crowder are both likely free agents this summer, but the Clippers have no viable avenue to pursue either as a Morris replacement).

The question with Morris seems to be less about whether or not he’ll return, but rather what exactly his new deal will be. Right now, LA has the potential for flexibility in 2021 with both Leonard and George hitting free agency, but it’s almost a no-brainer that embracing a bloated payroll with multi-year role player contracts is worth maximizing the upcoming season of two superstars in their prime (and hopefully convincing those stars to re-sign). Hopefully, the lack of spenders in free agency this off-season will leave the Clippers competing with just mid-level exception offers for Morris, meaning that his new deal could look closer to 3 years, $36 million than a heftier 3/45 or anything nearing his aforementioned maximum possible deal of 4/77 (which would be an absurd overpay).

I fully expect Marcus to be back as the Clippers’ starting power forward next season, probably with a larger regular-season offensive role (as George and Leonard’s minutes and shot attempts go down compared to what we saw in the playoffs) and a very similar playoff role to 2020.

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.

Clippers’ 2020 Exit Interview: Marcus Morris
Lucas Hann

Now that the Clippers’ 2020 season has reached its disappointing end, 213Hoops will work through the roster player-by-player for our “Exit Interview” series. Today’s exit interview features veteran center Joakim Noah.

Basic Information

Height: 6’11″

Weight: 230

Position: Center

Age: 35

Years in NBA: 13

Key Stats: In 5 “seeding games” for LAC, 10 minutes per game averaging 10.1 points, 11.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.7 blocks, 4.3 turnovers, and 6.5 fouls per 36 minutes.

Contract Status: Non-guaranteed deal for 2020-21 worth the veteran’s minimum of $2,692,991. Non-bird rights in 2020 off-season or early bird rights in 2021 off-season.

Expectations

As the season progressed, there was little doubt that the Clippers were going to need to add another center to their roster. Beyond the lack of trust Doc Rivers had in his starter, Ivica Zubac, who only played 18 minutes a night during the regular season, and the well-documented limitations of backup Montrezl Harrell, LA simply needed another body. With depth behind Zubac provided by the 6’7″ Harrell, 6’8″ power forward JaMychal Green, and unproven prospects Johnathan Motley (6’8″) and Mfiondu Kabengele (6’9″), the Clippers lacked any legit size defensively and on the glass should Zubac face foul trouble.

While Noah is well past his prime, he figured to provide Rivers with that insurance. A two-time All-Star who reached peak recognition as the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year and All-NBA 1st Team Center in 2013-14, Noah brought experience and knowledge, even if his ability was never going to measure up to his past production as a star. In addition to providing an emergency option that the team needed, his high-IQ play on both ends had the potential to provide Rivers a savvy defender and high-level passer if he became dissatisfied with his rotation bigs. However, those ambitions may have been excessive for a 35-year-old coming off of an Achilles injury.

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Reality

While Noah never realized that potential of helping the team in a significant way, playing just the final minute of two of the Clippers’ double-digit playoff losses, he did bring depth to help the team endure the absence of Montrezl Harrell and, to a lesser extent, Ivica Zubac during the bubble’s seeding games. Zubac was on a minutes restriction to start the bubble while Harrell missed all 8 seeding games due to a family situation.

Noah was used sparingly in the seeding games, with JaMychal Green and Ivica Zubac both playing extremely well and eating up the rotation minutes at center, but he did provide depth in spots for Rivers, mostly to provide rest. In total, he played 50 minutes in seeding games, 29 of which came in the Clippers’ finale with most of their core players resting and Ivica Zubac playing just 10 minutes. Ultimately, it’s hard to say that he had a significant impact that couldn’t have been provided by Kabengele and/or Motley, who were both left off the team’s bubble roster. Noah’s only meaningful playing time came in 10 minutes in the Clippers’ seeding opener against the Lakers (with Zubac on the aforementioned minutes restriction), and he didn’t make much of an impact.

Additionally, many fans were disappointed that Rivers didn’t turn to Noah in the playoffs, with Montrezl Harrell struggling immensely. Whether you blame Trez for his struggles or think it had more to do with poor coaching or a lack of conditioning due to a late arrival in the bubble, there’s no doubt that an otherwise-good team was awful when he was on the floor. But even then, I wouldn’t have turned to the little-used 35-year-old–Green should have been featured more as the team’s backup center when Zubac was resting.

Overall, Noah was an insurance policy, and just because he wasn’t needed doesn’t mean that he was a bad signing. You don’t need to get in a wreck for health and car insurance to be good investments, and it was ultimately extremely good for the Clippers that Noah wasn’t needed, as that would have likely meant an injury to Zubac.

Future with Clippers

Despite being a worthwhile insurance policy, Noah’s inability to earn minutes or make a positive impact in his short time with the team likely indicates that he won’t be returning to the roster next season. As part of his rest-of-season contract, Noah agreed to a non-guaranteed minimum-salary deal for the 2020-21 season, meaning the Clippers have the option to keep Noah around or cut him loose without owing him anything.

Even with many expecting normal backup Montrezl Harrell to walk in free agency, I don’t think Noah is the answer–the Clippers need to find a backup for Zubac who has more gas left in the tank than Joakim, likely dedicating their taxpayer mid-level exception to the position. If the team adds a second reliable center and holds on to Kabengele, their 2019 1st round pick, it doesn’t seem like Noah adds a lot. That’s especially true with a potential impending roster crunch as the Clippers keep Kabengele and fellow prospect Terance Mann on their 15-man roster and potentially add one or more new rookies via their 57th overall pick and any draft pick they purchase in the next two months.

When all is said and done, it’s possible that Noah will have a chance to make the roster as 15th man in training camp, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Clippers find themselves with 15 guaranteed contracts and the former Defensive Player of the Year is on the outside looking in. However, Noah’s contract could also help the Clippers in a trade. His minimum-salary deal can be absorbed by a partner team without counting as incoming salary under the minimum salary exception, while helping the Clippers patch together enough outgoing salary to facilitate a trade for a player with a larger contract. This could be particularly crucial in balancing the trade math in any Montrezl Harrell sign-and-trade deal, as Harrell’s incoming trade salary for his new team would be the value of his new contract, while the base-year compensation rule would limit his outgoing trade number for LAC to the greater of $6M or 50% of his new salary.

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.

Clippers’ 2020 Exit Interview: Joakim Noah
Lucas Hann

With the Clippers’ 2020 season over, we will start our annual exit interview series for each and every Clippers’ player, starting with JaMychal Green.

Basic Information

Height: 6’8

Weight: 227

Position: Power forward/Center

Age: 30 (birthday on June 21)

Years in NBA: 6

Key Stats: 6.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 0.8 assists, and 0.5 steals in 20.7 minutes per game across 63 games played on 42.9/38.7/75 shooting splits.

Playoff Stats: 6.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 0.5 assists, and 0.2 steals in 17.1 minutes per game across 13 games played on 56.4/43.5/77.8 shooting splits.

Contract Status: Player option for $4.9M in the 2020-2021 season.

Expectations

In my check-in on JaMychal Green just over three months ago well before the bubble restart, I wrote that Green would hopefully play a major role in the Clippers’ postseason push. I opined that he had been underplayed and underutilized all season considering his effectiveness and versatility, and that he should receive more minutes in the playoffs, especially as a small-ball center. I expected that the 2020 Clippers would make a fairly deep playoff run, and that JaMychal Green would be a somewhat major part of that.

Reality

Unfortunately, I was wrong on just about all counts. The Clippers did not make a deep playoff run, and Green actually played three and a half fewer minutes per game in the postseason. He rarely got opportunities to play backup center to stretch out opposing defenses, instead serving as a true replacement for Marcus Morris (who played 29.8 minutes per game). There were only a few occasions where he was out there at center, either alongside Morris or with a really small lineup with Kawhi Leonard at power forward. Instead, almost all of Green’s minutes came at power forward next to Ivica Zubac or Montrezl Harrell.

When Green was on the court, he was highly effective. Unlike so many other Clippers (really every other Clipper outside of Marcus Morris), his shot did not fail him, and he was probably the most consistent shooting Clipper at 43.5% from deep (albeit on low volume). As usual, he very rarely created his own shot, but he took advantage of his handful of mismatches on smaller players on the block, and made some extremely strong finishes in traffic (especially against the Nuggets). In short, for his role, he was a useful and valuable role player on offense. As we saw in the regular season, the Clippers’ offense really opened up in the rare occasions when Green was at center, his shooting and pick-and-pop abilities helping to draw defenders out of the paint and clear driving lanes for Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

However, defensively was where Green really stood out. Unlike every other Clippers’ bench player, he was not a liability on that end, instead providing mostly stout play both on the perimeter and in the paint. Like the rest of the Clippers’ big men, he was regularly toasted by Nikola Jokic – but he at least played him with some physicality and was a much better deterrent than Montrezl Harrell. Despite low block numbers, he also offered more consistent rim protection than Trez, and was a better rebounder on a per-minute basis. Out on the perimeter, he proved much more capable than Ivica Zubac (expected), and Montrezl Harrell (somewhat less so), switching out much more effectively onto smaller players. He even played decent defense on Luka Doncic on a handful of occasions in the first round.

All in all, Green was probably the 5^th best player for the Clippers in the postseason (behind Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Ivica Zubac, and Marcus Morris), and was the only Clipper outside Zubac who outplayed his expectations. Fans consistently called for him to receive more minutes in place of the struggling Harrell, and apparently, players on the team might have felt similarly. Green continued to be underutilized in the postseason, and while playing him more minutes over Trez would not have solved the Clippers’ issues, it would have helped a lot. Alas, Green’s role remained small, and the Clippers were eliminated early.

Future with Clippers

JaMychal Green has a player option this summer, and it will be fascinating to see what he does with it. It’s hard to predict right now, because we don’t know what the salary cap will be next year, and if it does tumble as many people think (due to the shortened season), it’s possible Green picks up the option, because he wouldn’t get an average salary that high.

However, considering that he’s 30 years old and has never had a big deal, Green could want to opt out and try to get a slightly longer deal that could provide more security. He’s played well enough over the past couple years that he should be able to secure a 3-year deal on around the same dollar value (if not a little higher) from a contending team.

The Clippers will reportedly make re-signing Green a priority, and for good reason. JaMychal Green was one of the only players who truly brought the “lunchpail” mentality of the 2019 Clippers to the 2020 iteration, and was effective at both big man positions alongside other key personnel. He’s a personality fit, an on-court fit, and his game should age fine into his early 30s. It would be a true shame if JaMyke was not brought back.

Clippers’ 2020 Exit Interview: JaMychal Green
Robert Flom

Since the acquiring of both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard during the 2019 off-season, the Clippers have had championship aspirations. On paper, the roster talent from top to bottom was undeniable, especially with so much versatility on the perimeter. But between Ivica Zubac, Montrezl Harrell, and Mfiondu Kabengele, the depth at the center position seemingly left a lot to be desired. Having just three centers on the roster, including the starting center who was benched during the playoffs, a 6’7 backup, and a rookie that would spend most of his time in the NBA G League, the questions were legitimate. Yet, coach Doc Rivers managed to sustain success for the majority of the season without much reinforcement with this very same Clippers’ center rotation.

However, trying to get through the playoffs with just two big bodies to use figured to be a tall task, especially with the possibilities of having to deal with Nikola Jokic, Anthony Davis, and Joel Embiid over the course of a seven game series. In fact, Embiid’s exposing of the Clippers’ bigs during a February game right before the All-Star break might have been what initiated some necessary changes to the frontcourt. Right before the COVID-19 brought the NBA season to a stoppage, the Clippers announced the signing of Joakim Noah to a 10-day contract, which would later become guaranteed throughout the season. 

Interestingly enough, the NBA restarted in late July, and the Clippers began their scrimmages without both Zubac and Harrell. Trez, the Clippers’ most used big man, left the bubble to deal with the death of his grandmother, and Zubac would be away from the team as he quarantined himself after having tested positive for COVID-19. This led into some new lineups that weren’t used during the first part of the season. Joakim Noah was able to log some important minutes throughout the scrimmages, showing off his veteran IQ on both sides of the ball. JaMychal Green also found himself playing some small ball center minutes, much to the delight of Clippers’ fans. Even Patrick Patterson played some stretch five, and didn’t do too badly himself. With the small, yet impressive, sample sizes of these players rotating in and out of the five spot, many are wondering what the rotation could look like in the playoffs once (potentially) everyone is back in the lineup and available to play. I’ll make the case for each big, and what we should realistically expect of them come playoff time.

Joakim Noah

Joakim Noah is the newest member of the Clippers. After a rough go in New York, Noah had a bit of a redemption season last year with the Memphis Grizzlies, where he was able to prove he was still a rotation-worthy player in this league. He finally got his opportunity with the Clippers in March after being linked to the team during the offseason. While the one-time DPOY has had a few noteworthy moments of play during the bubble games, in particular over the scrimmages, he remains the least likely to see any significant minutes on the court moving forward.

Defensively, Noah is much like Ivica Zubac, which is why Doc hasn’t been shy in mentioning how much of a mentor Noah will be for Zu. He’s a step slower these days, but his instincts and IQ are still quite sharp. In the few games he has logged with the Clippers, Noah showed that he is still solid at defending the post, and positions himself well to be able to challenge and block shots at the rim. Most importantly, Noah still plays with a deep passion and energy that can rally a team, a trait that could be important in the bubble’s crowd-lacking setup.

Offensively, Noah is the polar opposite of what the big man has become in the NBA today. He’s not going to space the floor, and he’s not really a threat finishing at the rim. What he does do well is create offense. Noah continues to be a master at operating out of the high post and finding cutters. Even more impressive was Noah displaying his awareness in pick & roll situations. He thrived during the scrimmages in short-rolling to around the freethrow line and being able to pinpoint passes to spot up shooters; certainly the most natural at doing so of all the Clippers’ bigs. During the playoffs, teams are going to send double teams at both Kawhi and PG in an attempt to take the ball out of their hands, so this ability to receive the pocket/short-roll pass and then play quarterback could really break the defensive scheme.

While Noah’s sheer effort is enough to make the case for more minutes, and his passing has the potential to keep the offense functioning, it’s hard to expect that Noah will see consistent playing time. Given the situation with his late arrival to the team, Trez being Doc’s go-to guy for long sequences at a time, and the recent stellar play of Zu and JaMychal at the center, it’s unlikely that Noah will find more than a few minutes here and there. The majority of his minutes might be used to spell another player who is in foul trouble, or to throw a physical body at the back-to-the-basket opposing bigs.

Patrick Patterson

In what has been sort of a revelation for the Clips, Patrick Patterson has been a pretty good player this season. Coming off a disappointing stint in Oklahoma City, Pat Pat was figured to be an end-of-the-rotation signing last offseason. Very few people thought he would contribute much of anything to this Clippers team.

Patterson’s minutes have run hot and cold thus far. While he has started 18 of the 57 games he’s played in, he has also had his share of DNP-CD’s. Pat Pat isn’t as mobile of a player as he once was, and that has been noticeable this season. He’s done a decent job at times guarding players that mirror his own style, and has even held up well enough defending the post. Patterson’s troubles come when having to use his foot-speed to keep guys in front of him. He’s just too slow to play much defense out on the perimeter, which is a problem, as he’s not big enough to offer much rim protection either.

Outside of Kabengele’s 20 3FGA’s on the season, Johnathan Motley’s single attempted and made three-pointer, and Reggie Jackson’s 15-game sample size of shooting in a Clippers uniform, Patterson ranks third on the team in three-point shooting percentage. His 38.6% trails only Paul George’s 41.1%, and Patrick Beverley’s 38.8%. This type of accuracy from downtown has been consistent no matter the situation. As mentioned earlier, Patterson’s playing time has been all over the place; sometimes he starts, sometimes he plays garbage minutes only, and then there are times where he doesn’t play for consecutive games. It takes a true professional to be ready at any given moment, and it’s really impressive that Patterson has consistently been ready to perform despite the variety of roles he’s played.

Doc’s “random acts of Patterson,” as I like to say, leaves all possibilities on the table for the veteran F/C. There won’t be a surplus of Patterson minutes in the playoffs, but due to his floor-spacing, and physical presence, I do think we’ll see him in most games.

JaMychal Green

Perhaps the player who currently makes the best case for more minutes at the five spot is JaMychal Green. After being acquired last season at the trade deadline, Green fit in very well as a stretch four. He quite possibly fit in even better during the playoffs thriving as a small-ball five. Sadly, we hadn’t seen as much JaMychal as we would have hoped for throughout much of this season, but there has been a recent uptick in both minutes and production, which simply cannot be ignored. Maybe Doc was holding Green as a key player in his back pocket, or maybe the absences of Zu and Trez forced his hand. Either way, Green has played more in the bubble, and has been fantastic.

JaMychal is a very important defender. He won’t be confused for Draymond Green on that end of the court, but his versatility to guard many different types of players is what makes him playable in almost any matchup. For example, being 6’8 and a strong 227 lbs, JaMychal has unique physical qualities that have allowed him to defend and make things uncomfortable for the Anthony Davis’ and Kristaps Porzinngis’ of the NBA for stretches at a time. But JaMychal also has the experience of playing on the perimeter during the earlier parts of his earlier career, which makes him capable of guarding players like LeBron James and Kevin Durant from time to time. His ability to switch onto wings and guards is going to play a huge role against teams like the Houston Rockets or Dallas Mavericks, who will try to expose Zu’s pick & roll coverages by playing with pick & pop shooters. 

Speaking of pick & pop shooters, JaMychal has really found his confidence as a shot-maker post all-star break. Since the break, he is shooting 46% from behind the arc, including 52% in the six bubble games at the time of this writing. This type of floor spacing really changes the dynamic of the halfcourt offense, as it creates much more room for gifted isolation players like Kawhi, Lou, and PG to get to their spots. Also worth noting: players like Rudy Gobert, Nikola Jokic, and Steven Adams typically prefer to do the bulk of their defending closer to the basket. So in a potential playoff series against that style of center, JaMychal’s floor spacing and ability to catch and shoot will be key in breaking the defense. 

However, Montrez Harrell’s return to the team is inevitably going to take away significant minutes at the center position. Fortunately for JaMychal, he has spent much of his Clippers’ career logging minutes alongside Harrell off of the bench, and has had successes in doing so. Now, more than ever, we are witnessing the best version of JaMychal as a Clipper. I suspect that Doc recognizes the value that JaMychal adds to the team and will figure out how to keep his minutes up, regardless of lineup or position.

Ivica Zubac

The big fella has played in, and started in, every one of the Clippers’ games this season, and he will continue to do so. Of all of the players on the roster, Zu is perhaps the least versatile in his role. You won’t find him playing any position other than center, and he won’t do anything outside of the normal, but that is exactly what is asked of him. 

Zu is the best defensive and rebounding big on the team by a large margin. His ability to excel in these areas as an elite rim protector will serve a high importance in potential match-ups against other teams that have size at the center position. Synergy Sports rates Zu as an “Excellent” defender in guarding post-ups and isolations, allowing just 25%, conversion rates in those respective areas. This sort of defensive dominance is what keeps players from converting at the rim, and even deters them from attempting those same shots. In terms of guarding the pick & roll, Zu is at his best when he is sitting in drop coverage. It allows for him to be a pest around the rim, but at the same time, leaves the door open for the pick & pop bigs to take advantage. Opposing stretch bigs have hurt the Clippers a few times this season, but never to the point of completely turning the game. It will be interesting to see if stretch bigs become an issue for Zu in potential match-ups against the Bucks’ Brook Lopez, the Mavs’ Kristaps Porzingis, the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic, and the plethora of small-ball perimeter players the Rockets use as the five.

On the offensive end, Zu’s job is quite simple; set solid screens to free up the ball handler, finish around the rim, and be opportunistic on the offensive glass. He rarely is asked, or even given opportunities, to do on the offensive end what other bigs on the roster do. However, his 112.8 offensive rating is the best of the available bigs. Combine the offense with the defense and you probably have your best, and most reliable big. 

With all that being said, given Trez’s massive role throughout the season, JaMychal being able to stretch the floor, and Joakim’s possible quick spurts of minutes every here and there, it would be really surprising to see Zu get more than his average amount of minutes. It’s ultimately going to come down to how he is playing during that specific game, and if he is creating more impact than the other bigs on any given night. 

Montrezl Harrell

Last, but certainly not least, is the “Monsta,” Montrezl Harrell. Trez’s energy is felt at all times. He plays with a “dog” mentality and competitive spirit that has earned a special place in the hearts of the Clippers community forever. From NBA D-Leaguer, to 6MOY contender, Harrell has quickly worked his way into becoming one of the better players on the Clippers roster. Before the return of the NBA, Trezz was Doc’s clear-cut favorite at the center position. He came off the bench, but played significantly more minutes than any other center on the team, while also closing the majority of games. 

Standing at 6’7, Trez usually finds himself undersized in comparison to his matchup. What he lacks in height, however, he makes up for in athleticism and explosion. Trez has a notion for making highlight blocks as the help defender, using his anticipation and explosive jumps to take shots out of the air. However, his lack of size is often his downfall in defending bigger centers who like to isolate in the post situations, which could present a lot of the same problems as playing JaMychal Green at the center. The competitive nature and high motor of Trezz is enough to get him through most situations, but at the end of the day, his weaknesses on the defensive side of the ball are clearly visible. He simply doesn’t offer the defensive capabilities that Zubac or Noah bring. Trez is a fair rebounder at 7.1 per game, but offensive rebounds are seemingly always there for the taking during his time on the court, being most evident in a loss to the Atlanta Hawks back in January when the Hawks pulled down 23 offensive boards.

You know what you’re going to get with Trezz on the offensive end. Over the course of the past two seasons, Trezz and Lou Williams have used the pick & roll to become the highest scoring bench duo in NBA history. While that dynamic has been a mainstay in the offense, Trezz has seen an increase in opportunity to operate in isolation situations out of the post. He is shooting 58% from the field this season, while using a combination of strength and crafty ball-handling to work his way to the rim. The isolations are sometimes wonky, but necessary. Trezz, who averages 5.6 free-throw attempts per game, attacks the rim in a relentless and creative way that often leaves his defenders in foul trouble. This offensive pressure could be key in shifting momentum in playoff games.

It’s likely going to take Trezz a bit of time to work his way back into game shape and return to form. Given the reality of Trezz’s situation, there won’t really be much time for him to ease his way back in, given that the playoffs are slated to begin August 17th. Nevertheless, he’ll be a key part of the rotation as he has been all year. Don’t expect anything less.

Conclusion

Given Trezz’s absence from the team, the Clippers; center rotation has been altered to experiment with different lineups, and give more minutes to their available bigs. The results have been encouraging, and honestly, seem to be sustainable. However, despite the success, we’ve seen the all-bench lineups really struggle to generate offense during stretches of games. Clearly, Trez’s ability to “get a bucket” is missed, as the lack of shot creators really plagued the bench unit at times. With Trez’s eventual return to the bubble seemingly around the corner, you can expect his surplus of minutes to return with him.

Ultimately, Doc’s decisions on the Clippers’ center rotation should come down to matchups and how things are playing out throughout the course of playoff matchups. He will have tough decisions to make, but I expect that the versatility these bigs bring to the game will allow Doc to be creative with his lineups.

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.

Making Sense of the Clippers’ Center Rotation
Cole Huff

A few days ago, it was reported that JaMychal Green would be heading to Orlando would occur today, July 12. Well, by Green’s own Instagram story, he is officially on his way.

With Green en route, and Kawhi arriving a couple days ago, the Clippers are finally approaching a full complement of players in Orlando. Ivica Zubac still has yet to report, and Landry Shamet of course has to test negative multiple times for COVID-19 before heading over, but it seems like everyone else is now present in the bubble. There’s been nothing to indicate that Zubac is dealing with anything serious, so it might just be a matter of logistics (or a family matter) that is delaying him. Shamet’s bout with COVID is more worrying, but again, reports have been positive so far, and the Clippers seem highly confident they will have all 15 players in Orlando.

As the Clippers slowly gather their strength, they will be able to orchestrate larger practices that better reflect Doc River’s true strategies and rotations in the postseason. JaMychal Green heading to Orlando is a big deal on this level, as he will probably have a sizable role to play in the months to come. This period before games restart is essentially a mini training camp, and it’s imperative that the Clippers have as many players as possible participate to regain some chemistry and hone their execution.

We will continue to keep posted on developments out of Orlando, but right now it seems as though shootarounds, workouts, and perhaps full practices have already commenced. The Clippers have begun posting some images from the practices, and video will probably be on its way at some point soon to provide even more tantalizing tidbits for fans. The Clippers’ first scrimmage in Orlando is just 10 days away – Clippers basketball is almost here at last.

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.

JaMychal Green Heading to Orlando
Robert Flom

Basic Information

Height: 6’8

Weight: 227

Position: Power forward/Center

Age: 30 (birthday on June 21)

Years in NBA: 6

Key Stats: 6.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 0.8 assists, and 0.5 steals in 20.5 minutes per game across 55 games player on 41.4/36.3/72.7 shooting splits.

Contract Status: In the first year of a two year, $9.8M contract with a player option in the second year.

Expectations

The expectations for JaMychal Green for the season were simple. He was expected to come off the bench at the power forward slot, play 15-25 minutes on any given night, and provide shooting, rebounding, and defense. There might be occasions where situations would call for him to play more, particularly as a small-ball center as he was in the 2019 playoffs, but those were not expected to be common, particularly in the regular season. People probably predicted that Green’s minutes and role would increase in the playoffs, just as the 2019 playoffs, but the playoffs were a long way off even before this interminable 2020 season.

Reality

Green has fit the expectations to a tee. He’s played just over 20 minutes a game (all off the bench), and almost exclusively in a power forward role. In this spot, he’s once again served as a perfect fit with the Clippers’ bench stars, Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams, helping solidify the Clips’ reserve unit as one of the most potent in the league. When he’s played with the Clippers’ stars, he’s been a fantastic fit, as his ability to space the floor without requiring touches works ideally with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The team has had some strong lineups with Green on the floor, and his personal numbers have been strong.

The only kind of odd thing is that Green hasn’t been used more, especially before the Clippers traded for Marcus Morris. Many of the complaints about Moe Harkless as the 5^th starter (too small, not a good rebounder, not an outside shooting threat) would have been directly resolved by moving Green into that spot. Yes, he’s a great complementary piece to the bench, and moving him might shake things up quite a bit, but it’s still odd that Doc didn’t at least try it. With Morris locking down that spot, Green starting remains unlikely, especially with Ivica Zubac’s improvement over last year, but it’s still possible he gets some spots starts in the postseason.

Future with Clippers

JaMychal is on track to play significant minutes in the playoffs. While the acquisition of Marcus Morris probably puts a limit on Green becoming a starter or closing games like he did in the 2019 playoffs, his ability to play small-ball center and play in a multitude of lineups is extremely valuable. If the Clippers make a deep playoff run, he won’t be one of the primary drivers of their success, but he will certainly play a part. Additionally, a lineup Doc hasn’t used yet is a true five-out unit with Beverley/Lou-PG-Kawhi-Morris-Green, which would be terrifying offensively. Green is just stout enough to get by as the primary help defender against many units, especially with the terrors of George, Beverley, and Kawhi on the perimeter. Look for Doc to try that at some point, especially if Zu’s offensive weaknesses and Trez’s defensive drawbacks become an issue in the postseason.

After the season, however, the question arises of what will come next. Green has a player option for $5M next year, and he will then have a (seemingly) tough choice. JaMychal might be able to get more on the open market, and could certainly get a slightly longer deal that would take him through his early 30s, but remaining on a championship contender at a reasonable rate will presumably be tempting. There’s also, of course, the possibility that Green and the Clips work out a longer deal that will keep him in LA. The Clippers like Green, he seems to like LA, and the fit is ideal with Kawhi and George. So this could be Green’s last year in LA, but it’s also very possible that he will be a Clipper for years to come.

2019-2020 LA Clippers Check-In: JaMychal Green
Robert Flom