Los Angeles Clippers: Paging Mike D’Antoni

The Clippers are 5-10 since the All-Star break, and have dropped all the way to sixth place in the Western Conference. That’s not exactly what anyone had in mind after they acquired Chris Paul and added Caron Butler to the mix this past offseason.

Los Angeles’ struggles have become so evident, that the listless Blazers are basking in their shadow. And that’s a problem.

While all of the Clippers’ problems cannot be attributed to Del Negro, the coach often becomes the scapegoat in these type of situations. In fact, we’ve seen it twice this season with Portland firing Nate McMillan and Mike D’Antoni resigning as head coach of the Knicks.

And speaking of D’Antoni, his number is one that Clippers owner Donald Sterling must add to his speed-dail should Del Negro be shown the door.

D’Antoni—while ultimately unsuccessful—has already coached a big market team laden with numerous superstars. He is known as a players coach and knows how to utilize a point guard’s talents.

Most importantly though, he is familiar with the Clippers’ dynamic. Los Angeles has a potentially devastating tandem in Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, and it’s one D’Antoni coached for the better part of a decade—a la Amar’e Stoudemire and Steve Nash—while with the Suns.

For a team that boasts the likes of Paul and Griffin, Los Angles runs very few pick-and-rolls. In fact, aside from the occasional alley-oop, the chemistry between the Clippers’ two stars has been utterly disappointing.

D’Antoni could change that. The Stoudemire and Nash led Suns won 50 or more games for four consecutive seasons under D’Antoni’s guidance. And despite the coach’s shortcomings in New York this season, he turned Stoudemire and Raymond Felton into a formidable tandem last year. Just imagine what he could do with Griffin and Paul.

The Clippers, much like the Knicks of two weeks ago, have stumbled into a realm of listlessness. They have struggled to put away, and even beat, inferior teams, while constantly falling short against legitimate contenders.

And this has to change.

There’s more at stake here than playing up to standards. How the team finishes the season will determine what happens in the immediate future.

Paul may have opted into the last year of his contract, but if this team fails to yield results, Dwight Howard—yes, we’re going there—won’t be the only one requesting a trade next season.

Is the problem Del Negro?

Debatable, but keep in mind the blame is not likely to fall upon the shoulders of either Paul or Griffin. Not only is it Del Negro’s job to coach with what he has, but it’s too expensive to admit that the Clippers are not constructed properly.

Here’s the thing, though. Unlike D’Antoni in New York, Del Negro’s superstars’ play-styles don’t clash. It’s just the opposite; they compliment each other by nature. While this comes as good news, it begs the question as to why Los Angeles has fallen this far.

It’s unfair to pin all of the Clippers’ flaws on Del Negro. Is he responsible? Yes, but so are the players; those are open shots that are caroming off the rim, those are uncontested layups that are being dropped in by the opposition.

Should it come down to motivation, though, and the Clippers opt for a change of coaching scenery, D’Antoni is there guy.

His seven seconds or less offensive system is one that Paul was born to run and one that Griffin, by nature, is bound to thrive in.

But most importantly he’s been here, done this, more than once.

Given the current state of the underachieving Clippers, that’s reason enough for his phone to already be ringing.