In the 2011 offseason it was the Clippers making although splashy moves in Los Angeles by trading for point guard Chris Paul, but this season the Lakers have recaptured the spotlight by acquiring Dwight Howard and Steve Nash. The Clippers trio of general manager Gary Sacks, coach Vinny Del Negro and team president Andy Roeser approached free agency with the intention to strengthen their bench.
The Clipper brought in several veterans including shooting guard Jamal Crawford, small forward Grant Hill and forward Lamar Odom. Also on the bench the team has Matt Barnes, Willie Green and Ronny Turiaf. These veterans should be to offer a great support system to the younger starters consisting of Chris Paul, Caron Butler, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.
While these veteran maybe getting up there in years, especially the 39-year-old Grant Hill, they still will offer the younger players the stabilizing influence that they lacked at times last season. Hill averaged 10.2 points per game last season and could help the Clippers a lot by coming off the bench.
Crawford's three-pointing shooting dipped from 38.4 percent in 2010-11 to 30.8in 2011-12, but he still provides Los Angeles with another scoring option. Crawford has in the past been a ball-hog and has bee unwise in his shot selection, but perhaps with Paul and Billups setting up plays and dishing him open looks he can regain his Sixth-Man of the Year title.
Lamar Odom probably would like to forget his stint with the Dallas Mavericks last season. I mean most of us NBA fans forgot he still played in the league. He can't get any worst for the Clippers so anything he does this season will likely be a plus for the team.
Blake Griffin averaged nearly 21 points per game last season, but with the addition of more scorers and a deeper bench his numbers should decline slightly, according to NBA 2K13. The Clippers will go as far as the duo of Paul and Griffin take them and Blake has to continue to develop into an elite NBA player for this to happen.
According to NBA 2K13, the injury bug bites the Clippers for most of the season. Los Angeles loses both Griffin and Paul to injuries for a significant amount of time. With 15 games left in the season the Clippers lose both Paul and Billups to injury and drop out of the playoff race from the forth seed. The team goes 3-13 during this period. Although the Clippers failed to make the playoffs, point guard Chris Paul was named the Player of the Month in February.
Here is how the game simulates the Clippers' season:
Regular Season Record: 40-42 ninth in the Western Conference
Top scorers: SG Jamal Crawford 16.3 PPG, PF Blake Griffin 18.4 PPG, PG Chris Paul 20.7 PPG
Leading rebounders: SF Caron Butler 6.1 RPG, C Deandre Jordan 7.6 RPG, PF Blake Griffin 10.5 RPG
Assist Leader: PG Chauncey Billups 4.1 APG, SG Jamal Crawford 4.7 APG, PG Chris Paul 9.3 APG
Playoff Opponents
Round 1 Did not qualify
Round 2: Did not qualify
Conference Finals: Did not qualify
NBA Finals: Did not qualify
Check out our other NBA 2K13 team previews:
Miami Heat
Oklahoma City Thunder
San Antonio Spurs
Boston Celtics
Los Angeles Lakers
Philadelphia 76ers
New York Knicks
Brooklyn Nets
Chicago Bulls
Los Angeles Clippers
Minnesota Timberwolves
Portland Trail Blazers
Cleveland Cavaliers