Clippers Will Struggle Defensively To Start Season

Compared to last year’s team, this year’s Clippers roster has some reliable perimeter defenders, but losing Montrezl Harrell drastically affects them in the frontcourt. He was a terrific interior defender and led the team in blocks last season. Now, the Clippers have no rim protector and no reliable interior defenders. 

Serge Ibaka is now 31-years old and is not the defender he once was and Ivica Zubac has been prone to fouling when defending bigger centers in the league. Between these two centers on the roster and Marcus Morris being more of a wing player who can play at power-forward, opposing teams should look to attack the Clippers early in the year as a result of their inability to defend the paint. 

Last year, the Clippers ranked 13th in team defense, only allowing 109.9 points per game to opponents and were great defending the three-point shot, ranking 5th in the league, only allowing opponents to shoot 34.5% from deep. While they may be the same in terms of perimeter defense with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, they will struggle to defend teams who play through the low-post. 

The Clippers did draft Daniel Oturu in the second-round of this past year’s draft and while he shows the potential to be a solid defensive player in the paint, he is nowhere near ready to contribute solid minutes at the NBA level. With not much of an offseason either to get Oturu accustomed to their system, he will be close to a non-factor during the first-half of the season. 

Interior defense will be something the Clippers may need to address near the trade deadline this upcoming season if they are to not just reach the NBA Finals, but the Western Conference Finals.