Chris Paul s bruised knee and DNPs are costing the Clippers games. They are awful without their all-

The Los Angeles Clippers are in a funk. Every team suffers through it (re: Los Angeles Lakers), but the Clippers current slide comes at a very inopportune time. They are in the middle of an eight-game boston red sox pre season tickets road trip and face the hardest part of the trip soon.
For those unfamiliar with that statement, it has a lot to do with what the Clippers are known to do lose. The culture has changed, we re all witnesses. Unfortunately, this losing slide away from the Staples Center is exposing a lot of holes in an otherwise strong team.
Chris Paul s bruised knee and DNPs are costing the Clippers games. They are awful without their all-star point guard. After winning the first three games without CP3, they ve won only two of the last nine. Paul s absence from the lineup is exposing just how weak the team is without their only playmaker. While, it may be too soon to state that comment without knowing how much gas is left in Chauncey Billups tank, the offensive woes are a direct result of the Paul DNPs. Paul s backup, Eric Bledsoe is filling in admirably playing boston red sox pre season tickets great defense, driving the lane, and putting up numbers. What Bledsoe lacks, however, is the ability to involve everyone in the offense. Watch one half court offensive set and it s obvious that the Clippers cannot move the ball and score at will on any opponent.
In addition to Paul s injury, there have been several notable Clippers missing from the lineup. While Billups is a consistent name on the injury list, Blake Griffin and Jamal Crawford have joined him. Without Griffin and Paul, the Clippers stand little chance to win many games, boston red sox pre season tickets as evident to their loss at Washington against the Wizards. Don t ask Wizards coach Randy Wittman that, though.
It was bound to happen. With so many injuries and the depth chart out of loop, the strength of the Clippers is compromised. Much of the offseason talk around the league s second-best bench does not apply now. The rotations and units that come out at specific times are gone because of the domino effect that Paul and Griffin s DNP have. Efficiency drops when Bledsoe is on court from Paul s great PER (player efficiency rating) of 26 to 18, a near eight-point drop. The usual second unit that comes out: Bledsoe, Crawford, Barnes, Odom, Turiaf is neutralized because two of the players (Bledsoe and Crawford) either start or play heavier minutes.
While it s too early to call foul, concerns definitely exist with the injuries popping up. It exposes just how weak the lineup is without one player and shows just how poor the bench can play without a consistent schedule and rotation. Lastly, it shows just how top-heavy this team truly is. It may open some eyes as to how deep the Clippers really are and could change this team from contender to pretender.
Timothy Lee is a sports and video game freelance journalist born and raised in Southern California. He has written for publications like the Daily Breeze, RotoAnalysis, SB Nation, and IGN.com. boston red sox pre season tickets View all posts by Timothy Lee »