What we learned from the Clippers’ preseason — despite all the injuries
Evaluating any measure of progress the Clippers may have made during the preseason cannot tell the entire story because they were an incomplete group for the majority of the time.
A deluge of injuries that started in Hawaii set the Clippers on a bad course the rest of training camp. They recovered enough to have plenty of interesting storylines, but they still are seeking to define who these Clippers truly are.
Six of the Clippers sustained injuries during camp, three of them starters, limiting how they prepared. “It’s hard to gauge us because so many of our key guys have been out,” Coach Doc Rivers said this week.
It began with starting guard Austin Rivers suffering a strained right glute in the first exhibition game in Hawaii. Then starting small forward Danilo Gallinari (sprained left foot) and forward Sam Dekker (strained left oblique) got injured in the second game in Hawaii.
Once back in Los Angeles, starting point guard Patrick Beverley (sore right knee), rookie guard Sindarius Thornwell (sprained right shoulder) and rookie forward Jamil Wilson (back spasms) went down.
“You never want to have this much missed time in training camp,” star forward Blake Griffin said. “But the nice thing is it seems like everybody is one to six days away from playing. So, you will take that over having guys out for months at a time.
“But we’ve put in place the things we need to. We’ve just got to move on. We’ve got to keep that ball rolling. Guys have done a good job of being at practice, being engaged and watching. Once they’re healthy, we’ll just kind of get the ball rolling and insert them back in.”
Perhaps the best news for the Clippers was that Griffin reported no issues with the right toe he had surgery on in May.
With point guard Chris Paul gone, Griffin took on more of a leadership role. He was confident in his play, averaging 17 points in the four exhibition games he played in. He shot 53.8% from the field and 47.1% (eight for 17) from three-point range, showing more of his arsenal.
But the key was Griffin being injury-free.
“I haven’t had any problems,” Griffin said. “I haven’t sat out any practices. I haven’t had any restrictions. I didn’t really anticipate that. At the beginning of the season, I met with probably four of the top foot surgeons in the United States and I never anticipated sitting out training camp.”
The continued dominance by center DeAndre Jordan on defense and the backboards (11.3 rebounds per game in four games) was another positive sign.
Among the newcomers, excitement was generated by Milos Teodosic, the 30-year-old EuroLeague veteran, and his enchanting passing (5.5 assists per game). Lou Williams (12.8 points) seamlessly fit into the sixth-man role formerly occupied by Jamal Crawford.
“We understand that we’re using these games as a springboard to get ready for the season,” said Williams, who played for the Lakers last season and was acquired from Houston in the Paul trade.
“We would not like to turn the ball over as much as we are. But I think that comes with chemistry, being on the floor with different guys, just trying to protect the basketball. Other than that, we haven’t put a lot of pressure on ourselves.”
The biggest negative was the rash of injuries, which contributed to spotty defense that allowed 107.4 points per game, surrendering 121 to Toronto and 134 to Portland.
The Clippers also were too careless with the basketball, turning it over 21.4 times per game, and that too was a result of the injuries.
“We’re turning the ball over too much,” Doc Rivers said. “In their defense, you have two of your guards out, two of our ball-handling guards out, so a lot of other guys have to do the ball handling.”
The Clippers finished 2-3 in the exhibition season and will spend the next few days getting healthy and ready for their season opener Thursday night against the host Lakers at Staples Center.
“There’re things to still clean up,” Griffin said. “This next week of practice will be really important for that, rhythm, timing and all that.”
Twitter: @BA_Turner
Get our high school sports newsletter
Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
