

Six of the Clippers' 10 opponents since Paul has returned rank in the top 12 in offensive efficiency. But things aren't getting easier in that regard, because their next three opponents - Milwaukee, Denver and Cleveland - all rank in the top 10.

The Clippers have also been 8.0 points per 100 possessions better offensively with Paul on the floor. Jamal Crawford may be a perennial Sixth Man of the Year candidate, but his effective field goal percentage of 47.0 percent, though higher than when he won the award last season (46.6 percent), ranks 120th among 131 players who have taken at least 500 shots. The Clippers have been outscored by 6.7 points per 100 possessions in 711 minutes with the backcourt trio of Crawford, Raymond Felton and Austin Rivers on the floor together.

Once again, Doc Rivers hasn't staggered the minutes of his two best players. In the 36 games that Paul and Blake Griffin has played together, Griffin has been on the floor for just 142 (23 percent) of the 629 minutes Paul has been off the floor.

That should change in the playoffs, but until then, the Clippers will continue to have a huge drop-off when their point guard goes to the bench, one that would have him in the MVP conversation had he been healthy all season.

No. 2

DeAndre Jordan has scored 1.53 points per possession as the roll man on pick-and-rolls, the highest mark among 44 players with at least 100 roll-man possessions.

On the surface, Jordan is limited offensively. All he does is dunk, right?

But if you're a big guy who can set good screens, roll hard to the basket, catch and finish, you're an offensive weapon. Jordan has shot 73.8 percent in the restricted area, a mark that ranks third - behind Kevin Durant and LeBron James - among 96 players who have attempted at least 200 restricted-area shots. Because he doesn't shoot much beyond five feet, he leads the league in field goal percentage and effective field goal percentage (minimum 300 FGA).

But Jordan's value as a roll man goes beyond the times he catches and scores. According to SportVU, Jordan gets the ball only 12 percent of the time after he sets a ball screen. But the Clippers have scored 1.19 points per 100 possession whenever he has set that screen, and that's the best mark among 47 players who have set at least 750 ball screens.

Paul is one of the league's best shooters off the dribble. His effective field goal percentage of 53.7 percent on pull-up jumpers ranks second in the league among players who have attempted at least 200. The Clippers have scored 1.25 points per possession when Paul and Jordan have run a pick-and-roll.

J.J. Redick, meanwhile, has an effective field goal percentage of 60.9 percent on catch-and-shoot jumpers, a mark that ranks seventh among players who have attempted at least 300. Defenses know that Redick can't be left alone on the perimeter, but Jordan's rolls to the rim can draw a weak-side defender into the paint and give Redick the space and time he needs to shoot.

The Clippers have scored 114.7 points per 100 possessions with Paul, Redick and Jordan on the floor together, the best mark among the team's trios that have played at least 250 minutes together. Redick has played only 157 of his 1,808 minutes with Jordan off the floor, in part because they complement each other so well. In their four seasons as teammates, Redick has gotten 7.6 3-point attempts per 36 minutes with Jordan on the floor and just 5.1 per 36 with Jordan off the floor.

It's only his free throw percentage that keeps Jordan from being the perfect roll man. But when he has space to roll, it's difficult for any defender to jump sufficiently high to affect his shot with a foul.

No. 3

The Clippers have taken 58.3 percent of their shots from outside the paint.

That's the third highest rate in the league, but it's progress, down from 60.5 percent last season and 61.4 percent the season before. Over the previous two seasons, the Clippers were the most jump shootingest team in the league. In 2014-15, they were the best shooting team in the restricted area, but took the lowest percentage of their shots from there.

This season, they rank fourth in field goal percentage in the restricted area, but are getting there more often. The Clippers' guards still don't get to the basket - both Paul and Redick have taken less than nine percent of their shots from the restricted area - but Blake Griffin hasn't been such a jump-shooter this season.