LA Clippers: Paul Pierce listed as probable starter vs. Nuggets
For the LA Clippers’ first game without Blake Griffin (knee surgery) against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night, Paul Pierce is listed as a probable starter.
Well, here we are. The LA Clippers taking on another regular season stretch while Blake Griffin is out with an injured leg, just like last season. He’s undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee today (Tuesday) and is expected to miss between three and six weeks as he recovers. It’s best for him to get healthy in time for the playoffs, of course, but before even thinking about that and any health concerns going forward, how the Clippers handle the loss of his superstar ability is the biggest question at hand right now.
Tuesday’s home game against the Denver Nuggets will be the Clippers’ first contest without Griffin, and as fans may have expected from Doc Rivers, he’s likely opted to go with an old favorite to start at power forward in the place of Griffin.
As Dan Woike of the Orange County Register reported, Pierce is listed as a probable starter.
Woike also added that Austin Rivers isn’t expecting to start at small forward tonight due to the size the Nuggets have with guys like Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler. The Clippers looking to maintain more size makes sense in this matchup.
With this in mind, it sounds like we’ll see the same starting lineup that we saw during Griffin’s absence last season that featured Luc Mbah a Moute at small forward next to Pierce at power forward.
Unfortunately, Pierce has shot poorly since arriving in L.A., but if he can at least make some of his threes, he’ll keep enough defensive attention outside so there’s room for Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan to operate pick-and-rolls and for others to drive.
Then there’s the question of defense. Luc’s elite presence and versatility will be needed more than ever with Pierce next to him, a total liability defending either forward position or trying to switch onto smaller players.
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Frankly, Paul Pierce is dead weight at this point. At both ends of the floor. They can cover for him enough defensively to get by, but that doesn’t remove his weakness. Hopefully, for the sake of the LA Clippers, Doc will still give more minutes to superior options like Wesley Johnson coming off the bench.
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