The Clippers’ slower-than-expected start isn’t all that unexpected. Especially the slower part.
With an average age of 33.2 years, the Clippers have the oldest team in NBA history, and it hasn’t taken long for teams to take notice. The Clippers have lost three consecutive games against younger, quicker opponents as they struggle to outrun teams when getting back on defense.
The Phoenix Suns were the latest team that broke open a close game by tripping up the Clippers in transition with aggressive, high-tempo play in the second half for a 115-102 victory on Thursday and to drop them to 3-5.
The Suns scored on their first 10 possessions of the third quarter.
“They had us in close-out situations and they were driving and kicking, and we couldn’t really keep up their pace or how they attacked the paint,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said in Phoenix. “We allowed a lot of 3s and to give up 40 points in the third quarter (and) it’s hard to come back from that.”
The Suns focused on their ability to shoot from long range, making 19 3-pointers, which left the Clippers (3-5) scrambling to find a way to counter the attack. Phoenix (4-5) is expected to employ the same game plan Saturday when the Suns visit Intuit Dome.
“Obviously they are a little bit older and try to slow down the game a little bit,” Suns four-time All-Star guard Devin Booker told reporters in Phoenix. “(Clippers coach) Ty Lue does a great job of switching defenses and you have CP (Chris Paul) operating that second unit and they were trying to get a great shot down every time, so we just had to turn it up a little bit.”
According to Cleaning the Glass, the Clippers are running on just 14.2% of their offensive possessions, the fourth-lowest mark in the NBA. On defense, they are giving up the most points per transition possession, a whopping 150.5 defensive rating.
Their minus-4.8 net rating puts them 20th (114.3 points) in the league in offense and 25th (119.1 ppg) in defense and an easy target for the faster teams.
“We just wanted to turn up our pace on both sides of the ball. I think we did a good job at it,” Booker said. “We were a little relaxed to start the game. We started using our leap and athleticism a lot better in the second half.”
The Clippers were hampered Thursday by the absence of Kawhi Leonard, who missed his second game because of a sprained right ankle, and James Harden, who missed the game for personal reasons. Ivica Zubac presented a threat inside in the first half, scoring 16 points, and kept the Clippers close, but he was limited in the second half, finishing with 23 points and 11 rebounds.
“I feel like teams are shooting more 3s this year, more and more teams are sending more guys to the glass,” Zubac said. “We got guys from the corners crashing, from the slot, and it’s not only a one-man job. It’s five guys and we all have got to hit, turn, and go get it because everyone’s crashing nowadays.”
Phoenix at Clippers
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Intuit Dome
TV/radio: FDSN SoCal/AM 570