The inside defense is the first in the league and the second in the league! The Clippers are underestimated and are expected to change the Western Conference

The NBA is in a long offseason. Many Western teams participated in the arms race this summer, including the Rockets getting Durant, the Nuggets send off the heavy burden of Porter Jr., freeing up their salary space and taking Cameron Johnson + Valan + Hardaway Jr. + Bruce Brown, and the Clippers getting Bill + Paul + Collins + Lopez the Big Three. The strength of these three teams has significantly improved on paper. In contrast, the Warriors did not make any noise throughout the offseason, because of their attitude towards Kumingga: they left Kumingga and felt that he was not at the level of his level, and they labeled Kumingga as a young talent during the trade. The Warriors' attitude is very firm. Kumingga either exchanges for the unprotected first round + the championship is in force. If you want to stay, you will only have a 1+1 team option! The Warriors tried to force Kumingga to surrender.

The East has fallen into three competitions in the new season: Cavaliers + Knicks + Magic, with the fierce competition significantly less than that in the West. In other words, the team that broke through the siege in the West next season is likely to win the championship. In addition to last season's championship Thunder, the Timberwolves, who have reached the Western Conference Finals for two consecutive seasons, should not be underestimated. As well as the three teams of Rockets + Nuggets + Clippers, which of these five teams has the most hope to have the last laugh? In terms of lineup depth alone, the Rockets and the Clippers are the best. The Rockets have raised the upper limit due to Durant, and the Clippers have the top configuration in the league in every position in the new season! The disadvantage is that the lineup framework is relatively old, but the advantage is that it is its rich overall experience, and the Clippers have made up for all the shortcomings of the lineup!

After the free market opened this summer, the Clippers signed Lopez with 18 million in two years and 38 years old next season, and Lopez, who will be 38 years old, is definitely a seriously underestimated center. US media specifically lists the data. In the past three seasons, Lopez has interfered with opponents' shooting numbers, all of which are the first in the league. Last season was 1,090 times (801 times in the second place Zubac), 1,234 times in the 23-24 season (951 times in the second place Homgren), and 1,360 times in the 22-23 season (919 times in the second place Clarkston)! When I first entered the league, Lopez was a famous league colander, especially during the Nets. However, Lopez became more and more demonic as he got older, and even in the 22-23 season, he was selected into the first team of the best defensive lineup!

In other words, the Clippers' inside duo, Lopez and Zubac, are already the strongest shooting ability in the league! Although the Clippers' defensive efficiency was third in the league last season, their backcourt rebounds were only tenth in the league. Especially in the playoffs, the defensive rebounds fell to the 12th league (there are only 16 teams in the playoffs). The main premise of grabbing rebounds must be to interfere with opponents' shooting. The biggest bottleneck of the Clippers last season is that as long as Zubac is on the game, the Clippers' defense will collapse completely (the rebound rate drops by 5.2%, and the block rate drops by 7.2%)! There is another data worth mentioning. Daluo averaged 13 points and 1.9 blocks per game in the regular season last season (fourth in the league), and averaged 1.8 three-pointers per game, which improved the disadvantages of Zubac's offense and defense when Zubac was not on the court.

This is just a big Lopez! Every operation of the Clippers during the offseason is the finishing touch: sending Powell away for Collins, releasing the little card from the fourth position to the third position. US media generally believe that Collins' defense is not good, but last season with the Jazz, Collins' On-Off value was +12.8. In order to lose, the Jazz did not dare to use Collins. When Collins was present, he increased his rebounding rate by 9.3% and blocking rate by 12.1%. He has a defensive foundation, not to mention that his teammates around him are stars such as Corlins + Lopez + Zubac in the new season. After the small card reaches the third position, the defensive pressure will be reduced and the offensive end can be more calm. In addition, Bill's arrival took over Powell's scoring output after leaving, and Bill also had the ability to create scoring.

Paul can keep Harden's playing time within 35 minutes. Paul has a substitute lineup. Focusing on his and Bogdan's projection + Jones' impact force + Lopez's big frame protection and cake hunting and shooting, the Clippers' lineup can have a lot of fault tolerance space, so that all the pressure will not be concentrated on Harden. Of course, the core trio of the Clippers' entire lineup is still Harden + Ka Xiao + Zubac. There are two things that are clear. In recent seasons, Harden has led the team to a regular season guaranteed a 60% winning rate, and he doesn't have to care about his teammates' strength. This is his ability. Secondly, Zubac slowly grew into the league's top center, with rebounding rate (20%) + positioning (2.6 times) + interfering shots (10.0 times) all the top five levels in the league, which helps to maximize the value of Harden and Paul holding the ball.

This lineup does not require Leonard to do anything in the regular season. Just stay healthy and the playoffs are his stage. In the NBA's official strength list for two consecutive periods, it is difficult for the Clippers to enter the top five, but it can be seen from the playoffs last season that the gap between the Clippers and the Nuggets and even the Thunder is not big (the Clippers and the Nuggets have a tiebreaker, and the Clippers even have the advantage in net winning points; the Nuggets and the Thunder play until the tiebreaker). Overall, the Clippers are indeed seriously underestimated. With Paul, Harden is not as stressed as the regular season; with Daluo, the Clippers can always remain oppressive in the interior for 48 minutes; including Collins liberating Leonard! In the new season, the Clippers have a great chance to quietly change the Western Conference pattern!