There are high expectations for the Clippers next season especially now that they have a pretty formidable lineup.
The talk of the town was of course that celebrated u-turn of DeAndre Jordan who almost landed with the Mavericks, but the Clippers did beef up key positions in the offseason.
Among the new faces on the Clippers roster include the addition of Lance Stephenson, Paul Pierce and Josh Smith. The new players carry something that should benefit Doc Rivers and that is flexibility.
Stephenson and Pierce have been known to play a lot of small forward, but don’t be surprised if at some point they play some off guard as well.
Josh Smith, on the other hand, is someone who has proven he can play other positions outside that of a forward. Last season with the Rockets, Smith was surprisingly used as a point guard in the playoffs, a forced move since the Rockets were pretty shorthanded at the position.
With the Clippers, Rivers plans to use Smith a bit at center, especially when the small lineup is used. Apparently the Clippers are somehow taking a page out of the Warriors playbook, something that many saw during the NBA Finals.
At that time, Draymond Green played the middle in lieu of big men to quicken the pace and load up the wings with outside shooters. And as everyone knows, that tactic by head coach Steve Kerr was instrumental for the Warriors in winning the 2014-15 NBA title.
Could it work for the Clippers?
Using Smith at center does come with risks. Such could have dire consequences on the rebounding and defensive side of things, though much of that could be negated if the team tightens up the interior and does a lot of gang rebounding.
The ploy is something that coach Rivers could use for his second unit at certain points of games in the season. It could work, but it may entirely depend on which team they would be facing. With that said it could be a status quo for now though Smith may want to accustom himself a bit in the middle.
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