The Clippers are still finding ways to win without injured Chris Paul, and DeAndre Jordan is at the forefront of their surge
It is games like this that are one of the staples that hold onto a career storybook.
L.A Clippers center DeAndre Jordan had 16PTS, 21REB and 4BLK, leading the Clippers to a 112-103 win over the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
It is the third time this season that Jordan eclipsed the 20 rebound mark and the sixth time that he’s had 19 rebounds or more. He, along with Blake Griffin, are slowly turning into the most dominant power forward/center combo in the NBA.
Freakish athleticism with a vast improvement in basketball fundamentals have turned these two former wunderkinds into perennial forces that will undoubtably be in New Orleans for the 2014 NBA All-Star Game.
Griffin’s name and highlight-reel reputation alone gets him in the midseason classic, but Jordan’s emergence from a mere dunking novelty to a dominant glass-grabber and shot swatter, has him up there with Dwight Howard and Roy Hibbert as one of the top center’s in the game.
One thing that is clearly noticeable is how Jordan is much stronger in keeping defenders at bay when in the paint for rebounds compared to recent seasons. Jordan’s positioning has also improved in terms of getting enough space underneath for a dunk or layup.
Jordan had a difficult assignment in Andre Drummond, who is regarded as one of the top young stars of the NBA in his second year out of Connecticut. Jordan today just got the better of the younger Drummond, especially on the glass where Jordan had a 9-3 advantage on offensive rebounds and 21-11 overall.
However, Jordan went 0-for-6 from the free throw line. It is still a facet of the game Jordan continues to struggle with, currently at a .418% clip from the stripe this year.
But in games such as these when Jordan is simply imposing his will under the basket, a certain stat such as that can be forgiven as he’s contributing in far greater ways other than scoring.
Although it seems that scoring isn’t necessarily a concern for the Clippers even without their superstar point guard Chris Paul running the show. L.A shot 55.8% from the field today against Detroit and are currently 6-2 without CP3 in the lineup following his shoulder injury suffered against Dallas back on January 3.
As long as Griffin and Jordan remain healthy for the rest of this month, along with the emergence of Jamal Crawford, the Clippers look to be just fine going towards the All-Star break in mid February.
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