2016-17 Results

Record: 51 – 31 (4th in the West)

Season Ended: Lost in the First round to the Jazz (7 games)

Key Additions

Draft

Sindarious Thornwell (SG/SF), Jawun Evans (PG)

Free Agency

Milos Teodosic (PG), Jamil Wilson (SF/PF) *Rookie*, Lou Williams (SG)

Trade

Patrick Beverly (PG), Sam Dekker (SF/PF), Danilo Gallinari (SF/PF)

Key Subtractions

Jamal Crawford, Chris Paul, Luc Mbah a Moute, J.J. Redick

Projected Starters (Last year averages)

PG: Patrick Beverly (10 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast)

SG: Milos Teodosic (Rookie)

SF: Danilo Gallinari (18 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast)

PF: Blake Griffin (22 pts, 8 reb, 5 ast)

C: Deandre Jordan (13 pts, 14 reb, 2 blk)

Key Reserves

Austin Rivers (PG/SG), Lou Williams (SG), Sam Dekker (SF/PF), Sindarious Thornwell (SG/SF)

Major Story lines

Post CP3 Era – As previously mentioned Chris Paul is now in Houston. After years of heartbreaking playoff exits and locker room turmoil Chris Paul decided it was time to go. Blake decided to stay which was telling as to how the relationship was. The Clippers brought over Patrick Beverly, signed veteran European PG Milos Teodosic, and ALSO drafted a PG who draws comparisons to CP3 and it will be all hands on deck to replace his production.

The HUGE 3 – One of the other bodies that will be called upon to replace some of Paul’s production is Danilo Gallinari. A guy who has been underappreciated for years is back in a large market and if the preseason is any indication he’s in for a good season. Between Gallo, Blake, and Deandre the Clips will have a huge and versatile front court and it will be up to Doc to get the most out of it.

Mike Predictions (38-44) (10th in the West)

• Clippers miss the playoffs – Despite the fact that I actually like the Clippers roster I don’t think they make the playoffs this year. The West is going to be ridiculously tough this year and between that and the injury history of their key players I wasn’t willing to predict they’ll cross that threshold. Also, I’d have more faith in them if Blake was willing to post up more down the stretch of games. If he’s going to try to close games by shooting jumpers they’ll continue to fail.
• Teodosic averages 9+ assists per game – Getting a veteran PG in his prime known for his passing ability was huge for the Clippers. Teodosic is going to give them a shot at getting back into the playoffs by getting the ball to his guys where they like it. The team should be fun to watch.

Josh Predictions (38-44) (11th in the West)

• The Clippers miss the playoffs – This one is obvious by my prediction of the team’s record, but I think the Clippers are going to miss the playoffs for the first time since the 2010-2011 season. DeAndre Jordan benefited a lot from Chris Paul’s presence. I think his production drops this year. And I think it’s hard to count on Blake Griffin staying healthy for a whole season. I expect an ugly year in LA.
• Blake Griffin misses substantial time – I mentioned in the first prediction, but I expect Griffin to miss some time, due to small injuries. I also think that because this team won’t really have much to play for this season, Griffin won’t be in a rush to get back when he does miss time.
• Milos Teodosic finishes top 5 in ROY rankings – I don’t know much about this guy, other than he’s a 30 year old rookie and former Euro League MVP. I’ve dabbled with him on 2k18 though, and I gotta say I like his playing style lol. For real though, I think he’ll have the chance to get alot of the primary ball handling duties behind Pat Beverly, and I think he’ll be a polished, efficient player that can run the offense and keep Jordan somewhat afloat in the pick and roll department. Not enough to help the team be great though, unfortunately.