Deandre Jordan: The $43 million bench player

[Greedy22]

False. Tufiaf and Hollins are probably both better "players" than DJ. DJ is just so much bigger and more athletic. Also, Odom is replacing DJ. Turiaf/Hollins are backing up Blake. There isn't a flaw in the VND's rotations right now. Everything is going perfectly right now...how can say we can improve on a franchise record 15 game winning streak? A streak we are winning by 16+ per game?

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They have beaten maybe 3 good teams during this entire streak. Chicago, even though they aren;t exactly a top teams, Denver..and boston. Neither of which are very good this year.

So, just because they are winning the easy games doesn't mean that his rotations can't be improved. They are 17th in rebounding...you know who is the teams 2nd best rebounder? JORDAN..in only 20 minutes.

Why does it matter who they have played? I don't see other teams with easier schedules winning 15 straight and obliterating their opponents like the Clippers are. CP3 is a top 5 player in the league and he's playing under 33 mpg for them, that speaks volumes how deep and great this team is.

[RyanStorm]

Why pay the guy 43 million to play 20 minutes per game?

Because they need to over pay everyone including bench so that they have a fighting chance. Utah's bench in terms of price/performance is way better.
Utahs bench is 5.4 mil cheaper, and starters are 1.4 cheaper. I only included the main bench, but then added in the Jazz's 3rd string and LAC's active roster of players.

Honestly I have been saying Utah's bench is the greatest in the NBA, but LAC has made this debatable, because they got a bench who were all starters for other teams and paid like starters.

Utahs bench is made up of 4 1st rounders from the last couple drafts. Only lacking in a 1st round PG.

[JasonJohnHorn]

Really? This team is on a 15-game winning streak... and VDN is playing a lot of great players fewer minutes. I mean, CP3 and Blake only get 32 minutes a game themselves... whatever rotation VDN has worked out, it's working. The Clippers have the best record in the league right now. And when you have one of the best benches in the league, it's a good idea to use it.

i agree that Jordan is good enough to get more minutes, but VDN is doing well with the rotation, so i wouldn't change a thing right now. As for how much he is getting paid, I don't care. No coach should put a guy on the floor because he is making more money than another player who may potentially be better.

If coaches distributed minutes based on how much a player was getting paid, there would be a lot of teams with VERY bad records right now... the Bobcats would be giving a lot more minutes to Tyrus Thomas for example.

[Stinkyoutsider]

I think the team is deep so it's always going to be difficult to figure out rotations, because there's a lot of talent on the squad. Maybe Jordan may pick up more minutes after the all star break?

I think Jordan is much more athletic than Turiaf and Hollins, but other than that, they all have the same skillset. It's really more about interchangable parts? Find out who plays better with the first unit between all 3.

They gave Jordan the big contract because they didn't want to lose their paint enforcer and he was young (23) so he can be developed.

[fresh prince]

Why does he only get 24 minutes per game? His minutes have not increased at all over the past 3 years and most of his rate stats have improved.

He is sporting a 98 defensive rating right now and is averaging a career high in points. It's not like they need someone elses offense since they have Blake, CP3, Crawford, Butler, Barnes, Odom, Bledsoe...etc.

Why pay the guy 43 million to play 20 minutes per game?

The clippers have been DESTROYING teams most nights so the starters literally sit out the entire 4th qtr. Deandre will play more when and if teams start actually testing the Clipps.

[RyanStorm]

No coach should put a guy on the floor because he is making more money than another player who may potentially be better.

I half believe this, because its a two way street. You shouldn't play a guy just because your over paying him, just like you shouldn't not play a great player just because he isn't being payed a lot. Especially when you lesser paid guy makes a better match up for the game(not every player is always the right pick to start).

Like Utah won't bench Marvin or Foye, even though Carroll and Burks both showed they play with more intensity(Both of which are 3rd stringers who aren't part of our main bench).

Pretty much everyone on our bench is worthy of being a starter(like LAC). They even started Carroll cuz marv was injured(Carroll makes 850k, and he did a better job defensively than Marvin(8.2 mil), and Marv wasn't missed cause he is a cold shooter anyways, who never puts his average up every night). Carrolls points always end up being higher than Marvin or Foye even when playing 3rd string with 20 mins!

[RyanStorm]

The clippers have been DESTROYING teams most nights so the starters literally sit out the entire 4th qtr. Deandre will play more when and if teams start actually testing the Clipps.

Jazz had their bench finish so many games, even when losing in Miami. Hayward and Favors are always in the 4th. I mean we get real work out of our bench and 3rd stringers(just like your bench can finish games). We are as deep as LAC, we just haven't had it all together and our inconsistent(our upcoming schedule should help out). Our bench might not start at the beginning, but they all see 20-30 minutes every night)

I just wonder how good LAC will be when they have 4 home games during the 30 days of hell, between Jan 14th and Feb 14th

[3RDASYSTEM]

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They have beaten maybe 3 good teams during this entire streak. Chicago, even though they aren;t exactly a top teams, Denver..and boston. Neither of which are very good this year.

So, just because they are winning the easy games doesn't mean that his rotations can't be improved. They are 17th in rebounding...you know who is the teams 2nd best rebounder? JORDAN..in only 20 minutes.

Who cares what teams they have beaten, they didnt rig the scheduling to make it like this

had they lost 12 0f 16 then you'd be screaming how overrated BLAKE/DJ are and blah blah and you still would be screaming how they are overpaying for a

20min. player

CP3 isnt getting heavy minutes so his production scoring wise wont be like in NO, even his assists will be down because of the hockey assist he will get with all those other playmakers around him

either way you slice it, they are legit contenders

its been that way since beginning of nba inception..the contenders beat whoever wherever, 16 wins in a row in the NBA is a major coup for CLIPS org.and any org. for that matter in any season

they use to struggle to not lose 16 in a row,go figure

[rocket]

Because he doesn't need to play more

[Cracka2HI!]

Name one team, at the end of the day id rather get the hard teams out of the way at this point in the schedule and have the 4th or 5th best record. All this means is that when they go into the harder part of there schedule they wil no longer have the best record when the season is over. Even with the record and the streak they are probably the 4th best team in the west. Thunder, spurs, and grizzlies. And as a whole they are probably six best. Heat, thunder, knicks, spurs, grizzlies, and than the clippers. The reason being because all those teams I have ahead of them all have played tougher schedules and are only two games on the loss column, except the thunder, and the heat who have one on the loss column. And some teams are doing so with injuries, that cause guys to miss games, the clippers are healthy. I like the clippers, but some people dont realize how easy it has been for them thus far.

All kinds of fail here. This would probably true if you were talking about your Knicks and their hot start. They have a bunch of 40 year olds and also will play tougher teams. They are more likely not to keep it up, the Clippers are still missing Billups and Hill too. Your main failure is that the Clippers have played a tough schedule. Miami, MEM, SA X2, OKC, CHI X2, Den X2. They have actually already gone through the toughest part of their schedule opponent wise. Way to try to jock your Knicks over my Clipps, you just failed. There probably is a good debate there, this just wasn't part of it.

Jazz had their bench finish so many games, even when losing in Miami. Hayward and Favors are always in the 4th. I mean we get real work out of our bench and 3rd stringers(just like your bench can finish games). We are as deep as LAC, we just haven't had it all together and our inconsistent(our upcoming schedule should help out). Our bench might not start at the beginning, but they all see 20-30 minutes every night)

I just wonder how good LAC will be when they have 4 home games during the 30 days of hell, between Jan 14th and Feb 14th

The Jazz have a very nice bench. Better bigs than the Clippers for sure. However they are not as deep as the Clipps. The starters count as depth too. There is no CP3 or Blake on the Jazz. Otherwise you are correct that the depth is similar. Looking forward to the 2 games against you guys. I doubt the Clippers win both. You make a good point about the tough month on the road coming up. I do expect the team to slow down. If they go over .500 I'll be happy.

[Clippersfan86]

Name one team, at the end of the day id rather get the hard teams out of the way at this point in the schedule and have the 4th or 5th best record. All this means is that when they go into the harder part of there schedule they wil no longer have the best record when the season is over. Even with the record and the streak they are probably the 4th best team in the west. Thunder, spurs, and grizzlies. And as a whole they are probably six best. Heat, thunder, knicks, spurs, grizzlies, and than the clippers. The reason being because all those teams I have ahead of them all have played tougher schedules and are only two games on the loss column, except the thunder, and the heat who have one on the loss column. And some teams are doing so with injuries, that cause guys to miss games, the clippers are healthy. I like the clippers, but some people dont realize how easy it has been for them thus far.

WTF kid? The Clippers have had the 10th most difficult strength of schedule and 2nd most difficult if you go by RPI. They have a higher win percentage vs the "contenders" than any other team in the NBA. Celtics and Nuggets are very talented and dangerous teams not playing particularly well but the Clippers absolutely MANHANDLED both the last two games.

[tapajafri]

This guy Deandre Jordan wouldn't be much without CP3 and Griffin.

Take those two away and he's just not that good.

[Clippersfan86]

He had his breakout year with Baron Davis. I agree without Griffin drawing so much defensive attention he wouldn't do as much but you could say that about any supporting player if you take a superstar away.

[tapajafri]

He had his breakout year with Baron Davis. I agree without Griffin drawing so much defensive attention he wouldn't do as much but you could say that about any supporting player if you take a superstar away.

True, but a lot of those supporting players arent getting paid 43 million

[Clippersfan86]

True, but a lot of those supporting players arent getting paid 43 million

No doubt he's overpaid but like Chronz has said before he was paid for reasons other than his production right now and I'll elaborate on them.

He's got a lot of upside and is only 24 years old and raw as hell. Even if he stays a 10, 8 and 2 block type player on this salary that's similar to what other 7 footers are getting lately. Tyson Chandler statistically isn't that much better for example and gets 15 mill a year (Jordan gets around 11). If the Clippers let him go who would they have of equal chemistry and talent? CP3 actually demanded the Clippers match as part of him buying into the deal according to Aldridge's huge post CP3 trade article. If we didn't match the offer he would have been on another team. Kaman would have been gone too so no center.

He's Blake's best friend and works well with the playstyle of our team. His blocks help generate fastbreaks and he's arguably the best running center in the NBA which helps. I would love him to move up to 10 ppg, 10 rpg, 2.5 bpg in about 30 minutes a game with more consistent man D and he still has time to get there.