Kawhi Leonard playing at the MVP level while Clippers’ emphasis on passing changed the offensive equation

I remember talking to Portland Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts a few years ago about the NBA’s growing fascination with the volume of passes, that is, the number of passes a team is making per game. The Golden State Warriors dynasties made it cooler, whipping the ball over 300 times for more than 30 assists per night, but Stotts found that everything passes, and perhaps most importantly, dowels, are created equal to deceive.

Is an extra pass for a worse sniper a good thing? Don’t some of the best pictures appear at the beginning of the clock? Didn’t these old Warriors teams have some of the best passers and snipers in history? Of course, they can move the ball everywhere and yet it will end up in the hands of an all-time sniper. The Blazers do not want Damian Lillard to miss a shot in isolation, so three more passes can be made to a contested Rodney Hood jumper later on the clock.

Reasonable minds may disagree about how this type of thinking has maximized, or perhaps atrophied, Blazers over the years. Still, Stotts’ point remains astute: with passes, quality, if you’re looking for a middle ground, it’s always better than quantity. Which is an indirect way to get to the Los Angeles Clippers, which has been one of the league’s most decisive passing teams, as part of an offensive makeover appreciated mainly in subtleties.

Entering Tuesday, the Clippers are in 18th place in passes per game and 17th in assists. If you want to be more technical, Ty Lue’s Clippers are making 14 more passes per game this season than Doc Rivers’s team in 2019-20 (285 to 271), which adds up to less than one more assist every night (24.3 to 23.7).

It doesn’t seem like a big difference. In fact, the Clippers have an slightly lower assist-to-pass ratio than last season. And yet, they are a totally different passing team. It has been the hallmark of Lue’s initial mandate, staying at Kawhi Leonard to take advantage of the attention he attracts in the painting for the launch of 3s for the Clippers’ snipers. Paul George is operating with a similar mindset. The two are reaching the best career average in assists and, together, are helping in more than 48% of the baskets made by the Clippers, against 46% last season.

Although the total number of Clippers passes may not be significantly high, their situational passes are. They will always have many low pass possessions, given the brilliance of Leonard, George and Lou Williams as individual creators, but the instinct to move the ball at the right time has been sharpened. If you double Kawhi or George and get caught in a spin game, the Clippers will throw the ball at a sniper before you can blink.

And it is not difficult to find a sniper. The Clippers are throwing an absurd 42.4 percent of 3 as a team, by Cleaning the Glass, by far the highest mark in the league. The new addition Nicolas Batum (46 percent of 3) and George (48 percent) were very hot throughout the season. Serge Ibaka is throwing 38 percent deep, an even more deadly number than he looks, given his ability to stretch the ground like a pick-and-pop five man, an element that the Clippers missed last season.

Meanwhile, Luke Kennard is shooting at 42 percent from 3. Leonard is at 38 percent. Patrick Beverley has 42%. Marcus Morris 46 percent. Lou Williams 39 percent. When you have top scorers like Leonard and George, who will head double teams, you just can’t keep up with all the pitchers as long as the attack is willing to move the ball.

Coming on Tuesday, the Clippers are the second attack in the league with 119.5 points for 100 possessions, against 114.2 last season, by CTG. They are creating 65 points per game in assists, up from 61 last season. And their formula is gold in the postseason: individual creators, shooting everywhere and a five-leg in Ibaka that allows them to clear the track in attack without compromising the protection of the rim in defense.

Speaking of defense, the Clippers climbed into the top five with a rating of 107.7, and they are even better than that number suggests through the lens of post-season viability. They have several elite perimeter defenders and a boat full of selectable pieces. They recover. His defensive shooting profile is solid. They prioritize paint protection and force you to shoot many amazing 3s with a big drop scheme. A drop scheme can become problematic in the playoffs depending on the confrontation, but Lue has consistently shown himself to be a willing and capable adjuster.

In a possible postseason clash with the Lakers, the Clippers don’t have a defender who can give Anthony Davis consistent problems, but who has? Lou Williams will be highlighted if he is in the playoff lineup at the end of the game. Kennard, and perhaps Reggie Jackson, gives Lue options in that regard, and Beverley’s eventual return will cover much of that, too. There were rumors that the Clips could trade Williams, or perhaps Ivica Zubac, which would be for defensive purposes. We’ll see if something happens on that front.

Either way, Clippers are real. They lost three out of four, but George and Beverley are out and they were there with the Nets and Celtics in two of those defeats. Needless to say, the Clippers are a threat to the top tier title, but considering how much fun everyone had laughing at the 3-1 playoff collapse against Denver in the bubble, it looks like we need a periodic reminder about this team.

Leonard must be in the top five of everyone’s MVP chart, and George is having an incredible season. We hope that this bone edema (toe) that is taking George off now does not take long, and assuming that is the case, this team is locked and charged for a legitimate championship run.