J.J. Redick says Clippers need to improve their pacing

Something happened during the Clippers’ game against the Lakers on Wednesday that caused J.J. Redick to pause.

It occurred during the second quarter, when DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin were dunking and Chris Paul was barraging the Lakers with jumpers.

“When we were able to stretch that lead, it was like, ‘What are we doing?’” Redick said. “We hadn’t played at that pace in a long time and it felt good.”

The Clippers went on to lead by as much as 43 points, eventually beating the Lakers, 114-89.

Playing at that pace, however, was an anomaly for the Clippers, who are slower than they were last season.

They’re averaging about 94.3 possessions per 48 minutes versus about 95.9 in 2013-14, according to basketballreference.com. Their relative pace compared to the league has also slightly dipped according to the website, from two in 2013-14 to 0.6 this season.

“It definitely felt like we played at a faster pace last year,” Redick said.

Compared to the other teams in the NBA, the Clippers are tied for 12th in pacing with the Oklahoma City Thunder, averaging about 96.5 possessions per 48 minutes, according to ESPN. That site has the Clippers ranked seventh in the league last season, averaging about 98.4 possessions per 48 minutes.

That’s a pretty steep drop-off considering the Clippers returned all of their starters from last year. One of the main things that has changed for the Clippers has been the loss of guard Darren Collison, who agreed to a deal with the Sacramento Kings over the summer.

Redick says the team has definitely felt his absence.

“The guy was an absolute warrior for us last year and was a big reason we won 57 games,” Redick said.

Follow Melissa Rohlin on Twitter @melissarohlin