LOS ANGELES – There were no meetings or extensive discussions between players.

But the Clippers knew, at least the smart ones did.

They were in trouble.

“We had such a bad start to the season. We were under .500 after (15) games,” Clippers guard J.J. Redick remembered earlier this week. “I think partially, because of our start, we were like ‘Oh (expletive), are we going to win 50 games?’”

The path they were on just before Thanksgiving wasn’t going to lead to 50 wins. It might not have even led to the postseason.

The Clippers had just lost at home to Utah, and the numbers were really ugly.

Their revamped pick-and-roll defense was getting demolished, with only seven teams guarding worse than them. Offensively the Clippers were fine, but they weren’t elite.

The inconsistencies led the Clippers below .500, their worst record that deep into the season since Blake Griffin’s rookie season.

But in the 42 games since, despite plenty of off-court trauma, the Clippers have more than salvaged their season. And in a strange twist, the high-wire act of Lob City has done it on the defensive end.

Using defensive efficiency (points per 100 possessions) data available on NBA.com, the staggering change jumps off the screen.

In the first 15 games of the season, the Clippers’ defensive rating was 104.0, 23rd in the NBA. In the 42 games since, that number drops all the way to 99.0, the second-best total in the league, trailing only the San Antonio Spurs (96.5).

As of Thursday, the Clippers had the sixth-best defense in the NBA (100.3).

One reason stands out for the drastic improvement: The Clippers simply got more comfortable with the changes they made.

The biggest switch had to do with DeAndre Jordan, who was moved from the perimeter closer to the paint on pick-and-roll coverage. The change was designed to keep the Clippers from scrambling to cover for one another and to keep opponents from getting open 3-point attempts.

Since the first 15 games, only the Spurs and Detroit Pistons have allowed fewer 3-point baskets per game.

Teams are taking 1.4 fewer 3-pointers per game against the Clippers this season, a deceivingly small number.

A better representation might be their ranks in an increasingly 3-point happy NBA.

Last year, the Clippers gave up the sixth-most 3s; this season they’re giving up the eighth-fewest.

Not coincidentally, the sudden uptick defensively mirrors Doc Rivers’ use of Luc Mbah a Moute.

Mbah a Moute entered the rotation after the loss to the Jazz, and one game later, he became the team’s starting small forward.

Schedule has played a factor, with the Clippers beating up on some lesser teams, but it’s certainly not the biggest one.

For the past 42 games – more than half of an NBA season – the Clippers have been the second-best defensive team in the NBA.

And more than anything else, that’s the reason they’re no longer on that dangerous path.

Contact the writer: dwoike@ocregister.com