Four games into the season, the LA Clippers have found a strength that wasn’t supposed to be there. The bench group, built around young players and Brook Lopez, has gone from an afterthought to one of the league’s most productive units.
That second group has stacked up impressive numbers across the board, ranking near the top of the NBA in points, three-point percentage, offensive rating, net rating, steals and blocks. It has also been a big reason the Clippers have been able to keep several losses within reach.
If that level of play holds while the roster gets healthier over the next few weeks, LA could start forcing the rest of the Western Conference to take a closer look.
Lopez has been the headline piece of that reserve group. Filling in for Isaiah Jackson, he has averaged 14.0 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 58.3% from the field and adding 1.3 blocks. At times, he has also carried the offense for stretches, and he has settled into the sixth-man role with real ease.
If he keeps producing like this, Lopez will have a legitimate case in the race for the regular-season award that goes with that role.
Keaton Wagler has been just as important in his own way. The rookie has put up 15.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.3 steals, while hitting 39.1 from three on 5.8 attempts per game.
He may be a rookie, but he’s not playing like one. His poise, his ability to bend the offense and the edge he’s brought defensively have shown up from the start.
Gradey Dick and Kobe Sanders have also done their part to keep the bench humming. Both have chipped in by hitting threes, creating pressure when needed and defending with plenty of bite.
Taken together, the group has given the Clippers a real edge early. And if the team can clean up a few things - especially with Darius Garland and Rui Hachimura - and get Brandon Ingram and Max Strus back sooner than later, this roster could become a playoff threat in the Western Conference even if it doesn’t look that way on paper.
In Other News...
Gradey Dick Is Giving Clippers Fans A Fresh Reason To Question Toronto
Gradey Dicks move to Los Angeles has quietly become one of those changes that makes you look back at Toronto and wonder whether the fit was ever right. After three seasons with the Raptors, the former lottery pick landed with the Clippers and has settled into a role that looks far less demanding than the one he left behind, where a season full of injuries helped create opportunity before the teams playoff push eventually squeezed him out of the rotation.
In Los Angeles, Dick has looked more comfortable and more efficient, producing steady all-around minutes without the same pressure to carry a bigger burden. The numbers suggest a player benefiting from a cleaner environment and a clearer role, which is exactly the kind of development that can make a front office second-guess how it handled a young talent in the first place. [Read more 🡒]
Clippers Face A Darius Garland Decision They Didn't Expect
A speculative trade idea has put Darius Garland in the middle of an unexpected conversation around the Clippers, even though nothing is imminent. The proposal imagines Phoenix filling its point guard need by landing Garland, while Los Angeles would come away with scoring help and a future first-round pick, a framework that speaks to how quickly the market can shift when a team is looking for offense and balance.
For the Clippers, the intrigue is less about a deal on the table than about what Garland represents in a broader roster discussion. His fit in Phoenix is easy to see on paper, but the fact that his early offensive struggles are being folded into trade chatter shows how thin the margin can be for a player of his profile, especially when teams start weighing immediate production against long-term flexibility. [Read more 🡒]