Who Is The Best Team In The NBA?
Recently, I talked about who was the best player in the NBA. Today, I will be going over a similar topic, who is the best team in the NBA?
Recently, I posted my thoughts on the best player in the NBA. Today, I will be talking about which team is the best in the NBA.
There are many factors that went into my decision, not just wins. But, I ultimately decided to go with the…
Los Angeles Clippers
Now, I will tell you why I picked the Clippers for the title of being the best team in the NBA.
Roster/Depth
The Clippers have the most talented roster in the NBA. They also have great depth in their entire lineup. The Clippers have been starting Patrick Beverley, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, Marcus Morris and Ivica Zubac.
Beverley, Leonard, George, and Morris are great defenders. These guys are versatile on the defensive side of the ball. Scoring is also covered with Leonard, George and Morris providing almost all of the scoring for the starters.
The Clippers are also very stacked off the bench. They have two 6th Man of The Year candidates in Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell. They also have guys like Landry Shamet and JaMychal Green along with Reggie Jackson.
Williams and Harrell are the best bench duo in the NBA, and they control the pace for the bench. Landry Shamet is a good 3-pt shooter, and JaMychal Green can play inside and out. Reggie Jackson was acquired later in the season, but he is another scorer/floor general to help Lou Williams and the 2nd unit on offense.
The Clippers have so many offensive weapons, along with some defensive stoppers. When the Clippers are healthy, it will be very tough to stop their entire lineup.
Winning
The Clippers rank 2nd in the Western Conference with a record of 44-20.
But, they have a very good record against good teams.
They are 2-1 vs the LA Lakers
They are 1-1 vs the Boston Celtics
They are 2-2 vs the Houston Rockets
They are 2-0 vs the Toronto Raptors
The Clippers are very capable of beating the best teams in the NBA, it’s just that their season has been filled with injuries.
Kawhi Leonard has his load management. Paul George has missed time with shoulder and ankle injuries. Patrick Beverley and Landry Shamet missed time as well.
But, when the Clippers are healthy, they are very tough to stop.
Defense
The Clippers have some of the best defenders in the NBA in their lineup, from the ultimate pest, Patrick Beverley, to the deadly duo of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
But, as a whole team, the Clippers are extremely good at defense.
The Clippers rank 5th in defensive rating, allowing their opponents to score 106.6 points per game.
Now, if you look at other stats like blocks and steals, the Clippers are not not so high up. But, the Clippers have one advantage.
They match up well with anybody.
3 members of their starting lineup can match up well with the best small forwards in the league like Lebron James or Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The only major problem on defense is the paint. They have shown signs of doubling guys like Anthony Davis in the post, which they might have to do. But, if the Clippers keep their opponents to mostly perimeter shots, they will win the game. But, if the opponent has their way down low, the Clippers will have a tough time on defense.
The Clippers have so much versatility on defense, that it will be tough to score on them in the playoffs (if there is one…. and that is a topic for another post).
Offense
Like their defense, the Clippers are very versatile on offense.
This season, the Clippers are scoring 116.2 points per game, which ranks 4th in the NBA. They are also very efficient, shooting 46.4% from the field and 36.6% from 3. Both of these are top 12 in the NBA.
The Clippers offense is great, but it’s even more impressive that they are doing it the way that they are. The Clippers average 23.8 assists per game, which ranks 18th in the NBA. This means that the Clippers generate this amount of offense with mostly isolation plays. Usually teams who generate this much offense pass the ball around more, but not the Clippers.
The Clippers average the most bench points out of any other team in the NBA, scoring 51.5 points per game.
But, if it got to a game 7, and you needed some points, you have lots of weapons and options.
You have Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, two of the best scoring wings in the NBA. Marcus Morris is a good scorer, and he can get in going fast.
Off the bench, you have the crafty Lou Williams and the paint beast Montrezl Harrell.
Landry Shamet is a good shooter, and Reggie Jackson is a capable scorer as well.
Well, I hope now that you can realize that as a team, the Clippers are very easily the best in the NBA. They have offense and defensive players all throughout their lineup. There is no weakness on the team.
So, I hope that these arguments shed light into why I think the Clippers are the best team in the NBA. Please leave a comment leaving who you think is the best team in the NBA.
