Los Angeles Lakers: 3 Statistics that show they are better than the Clippers
Defensive Rebounding Percentage
The Clippers don’t have a player in the top-50 in defensive rebound percentage from last season’s rankings. The Lakers have two players.
Dwight Howard ranked 23rd in the NBA with a 28.3 DRB% last season, and Anthony Davis was ranked 29th with a 27.5 DRB%
6’ 9” JaMychal Green had the best DRB% the previous season (24.3%) of any current Clippers player.
The quintet of Leonard, George, Green, and Beverley will give the Clippers the most competent perimeter defense in the league next season. But, LA’s other team is incredibly thin up the middle.
The Clippers only have one true center on the roster, 22-year-old Ivica Zubac. He’s the projected starter. However, he won’t get significant playing time during the upcoming season.
Zubac will likely play a similar role as last year. He’ll open the first and second halves and average around 20 minutes per game. Ivica’s backup, Montrezl Harrell is a better player, and he’ll see close to 28 minutes per contest.
Last season Clippers coach, Doc Rivers closed with 6’ 8” Harrell at center, and unless things go sideways for the Clippers he’ll continue to finish games. Montrezl’s too short to match up against the Lakers frontcourt. That’s going to be an issue for the Blue and Red.
It’s easy to see Frank Vogel deploying Dwight Howard, Anthony Davis, and LeBron James, three of the best rebounders in the NBA at their respective positions, to end games.
Sure the Clippers will get plenty of stops with their expected closing unit of Williams, George, Leonard, Green, and Harrell. That group is stocked full of hyper-athletic wings. There’s one glaring problem with that collection of players; they are too short.
There’s no way the Clippers will be able to keep the Lakers from dominating the glass, especially at the end of games. The Lakers are going to extend numerous possessions by grabbing offensive rebounds which will lead to second and third chances.
Doc Rivers could counter the Lakers size with the one player on his squad seven feet or taller, the young and inexperienced Zubac. He doesn’t stand much of a chance against the Lakers current rotation of bigs; JaVale McGee, Howard, and Davis.
The Clippers landed Leonard and George, two of the best perimeter defenders in the game this past offseason. During clutch situations, they alone will muck up much of what the Lakers want to do on offense. That’s amazing but, if they can’t rebound the ball after a miss, it won’t matter. The Lakers might shoot below 40 percent from the field against their neighbors. Nevertheless, they’ll still get buckets by bullying the smaller Clippers on the boards.
The Lakers size up the middle is going to give LeBron, AD, and the rest of squad a critical advantage next season against the Clippers.