Alright, so I got this idea to really map out the Clippers depth chart. Seemed simple enough, right? Just list the guys by position. Well, let me tell ya, it wasn’t quite like snapping your fingers.
First thing I did was pull up the official team roster. Okay, got the names. That’s step one, easy peasy. But then you look at it, and it’s just a list. Doesn’t tell you who starts, who comes off the bench, who barely gets any run time. It’s just… names.
So, I started digging a bit deeper. I had to think back on the games I watched recently. Who was actually on the court during crunch time? Who was getting the first substitution nod? I even found myself checking box scores from the last few matchups, just trying to see the minutes played. It felt like real detective work, honestly. Trying to piece together clues.
Then came the actual organizing part. I grabbed a piece of paper, old school style. Tried to slot guys into the classic Point Guard, Shooting Guard, Small Forward, Power Forward, Center buckets. Man, that got messy fast. You got guys like Paul George, Kawhi Leonard… where do you strictly put them? They kinda float between positions depending on the lineup. And what about Terance Mann? Plays guard, plays forward, brings that energy everywhere. It’s not as clean as just listing five spots.
Trying to Make Sense of It
You also gotta deal with all the other stuff. Injuries are a big one. A guy is penciled in as a starter, then bam, he’s out for two weeks, and the whole rotation shifts. You got guys playing heavy minutes one night and barely seeing the floor the next. Coaches try different lineups, see what clicks. It’s constantly changing.
I tried making a simple list, something like this:
- PG: Harden, Westbrook, maybe Bones?
- SG: George, Powell, Mann?
- SF: Leonard, Coffey, maybe George here too?
- PF: Tucker? Leonard sometimes? Who knows?
- C: Zubac, Plumlee, Theis
But even looking at that list right now, it feels kinda wrong. Or incomplete, at least. Powell is instant offense off the bench, more than just an “SG”. Westbrook’s role changed big time when Harden arrived. Tucker… well, he’s there. See? It’s complicated. You almost need little notes next to each name explaining their actual role, not just their listed position.
So I spent a good chunk of time moving names around, second-guessing myself. You try to factor in defense, shooting, playmaking. You think about small-ball lineups, big lineups. It’s a headache, really. You make this chart, feel okay about it for like five minutes, and then you realize someone’s minute restriction changed, or maybe trade rumors pop up and suddenly half the chart might be gone next week.
In the end, what did I get? A snapshot. A blurry one, maybe. It’s a decent guess for today, but ask me again after the next game, and it might look totally different. It’s just the nature of the beast in the NBA. Guys get hot, guys get cold, matchups dictate everything. So yeah, I made a depth chart. But keeping it truly accurate? That feels like a full-time job. Guess it was just an exercise to wrap my own head around the team better.
