The Clippers And Sixers Are Dominating Close Games, While The Knicks And Nets Have Struggled


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One of the harsh truths of the NBA is that close games can make or break a season. Consider how close the playoff races are at the end of the season. Last season alone, three wins separated the No. 3 seed Trail Blazers in the West from the outside looking in Nuggets at No. 9. Over an 82 game season, a team can play maybe 10 games that come down to a five-point margin in the final two minutes. When it gets that close metrics are thrown out the books. Luck comes into play as well as execution and refereeing. So many factors can decide how a close game could play out. If a team has enough close games go the wrong way for them then that could be the difference between playoffs or home court advantage.

Maybe knowing this is why Doc Rivers went into this upcoming Clippers season preparing for the Clippers to be playing in a lot of close games. Rivers had his players preparing for close game situations since day one and looking at his roster that was probably the right move. Without a true star player Rivers knew what he had and he and knew he had to get to work on the type of situations those teams will be in. Specifically close games. Via the Los Angeles Times.

When he looked at the roster before the season, there was one thing clearer than all others.

“We knew we were going to play in a [expletive] load of close games,” Rivers said.

This is who his team is — the cardiac Clippers, a team without the star power needed to blow out teams, but with the toughness and togetherness to be hard to stop.

Three of their last four games at Staples Center have gone to overtime — against three of the NBA’s top teams, Milwaukee, Golden State and Memphis. A five-point win against San Antonio is the other.


Rivers was right to look at his team as one that’s going to be forced to play in a lot of close games. According to NBA.com/stats, the Clippers have already played in 11 games this season where there have been less than two minutes on the clock and they have been leading or behind by five points or less. In those games, the Clippers are 8-3, tied with the Sixers for the best mark in the league among teams with 11 such games this season (Indiana is 5-2, the only percentage better overall. The only teams to play more close games than the Clippers and Sixers are the Celtics, Magic, and Lakers. Boston has a 6-6 record in 12 games under the same criteria while the Lakers are 7-6 in 13 games after a home loss to Orlando, improving the Magic’s record to 7-4.

The Clippers being as great as they are in close games has played a big part in their strong start to this season. They’re currently tied for first in the Western Conference at 12-6 with Tobias Harris arguably being their best player. Nothing against Harris, but he’s not considered the caliber of star player that can be the lead player on a contender. Harrris, scoring a career high 20.8 points while pulling down a career high 8.6 rebounds per game is ready to get paid this offseason. He’s also another example of Doc Rivers doing incredible work with non-superstar players, which has been consistent throughout Rivers career. Give him bit pieces and he tends to get more out of him than anyone has previously in their career. In a way he’s better with non-stars than he is with actual stars.

“I just think guys you put them together and then turn them into a team, the team has a chance to make the team better.” Rivers said during a recent Clippers road trip to Orlando. “I think this is a really interesting group of guys. They are more talented than some people think. We don’t’ have the superstars, but we have a lot of good players. We have a good mix. A lot of good veterans and we have some good young guys as well, and it’s been a fun group to coach.”

On the other side of the coin, the Nets and Knicks could have monumentally better records had their clutch performances swung the other way. Following the Sunday night buzzer beater, the Nets are 3-8 over 11 games following the same criteria for determining clutch situations. For the Nets if they had even gone .500 in those close games they would be hanging around .500 overall and in position for No. 7 in the East, while half the losses for the Knicks in this early season have been in clutch games. They’re 4-7 in 11 of those games after sneaking in a close win in on Sunday night over the Grizzlies. Part of the reason these two teams find themselves with those records is they just don’t have the talent or experience to handle clutch situations, but it shows how clutch games can swing a season.

Rivers is right to care about how his teams play in close games. That has been the difference for them so far in the early portion of the season. It might not play that way over the entire year, but it certainly can’t hurt to snag these early wins while they’re available.

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