The Los Angeles Clippers’ topsy-turvy 2015-16 season has now reached full “Well, jeez” status.
Prior to the Clippers’ Wednesday night loss to the Indiana Pacers, coach and president Doc Rivers revealed that the rib injury All-Star point guard Chris Paul suffered against the Portland Trail Blazers two nights before would keep him sidelined for at least two games. Per Jovan Buha of Fox Sports:
Chris Paul is out tonight, according to Doc Rivers. He said Paul is out "for the next couple for sure."
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) December 3, 2015
This, quite clearly, is not ideal.
The Clippers are already struggling to stay above .500 and re-establish themselves as a top Western Conference contender, and Paul’s absence, however brief or protracted, is the one setback they cannot afford to suffer.
When he’s on the floor, the Clippers outscore opponents by 7.3 points per 100 possessions, a net rating that would rank third in the Association, behind only the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors, according to NBA.com. When he’s off the floor, though, they’re a minus-3.5 points per 100 possessions, a mark that’s eerily similar to the Sacramento Kings.
Two to three more games of Paul-less basketball might be something the Clippers can stomach. Next up are the Orlando Magic, followed by the Minnesota Timberwolves and Milwaukee Bucks. All of those are winnable games without Paul, even with the Magic and Timberwolves surprising just about everyone.
Any more time than that is when you start to get concerned—not necessarily because of the upcoming schedule beyond that, which isn’t too harrowing, but because the Clippers’ ability to rebound from a sluggish start is tethered tightly to Paul being on the floor as much as possible.
