#3 - Los Angles Clippers

Donald Sterling and the Los Angeles Clippers had one of the biggest victories this summer in stealing head coach Doc Rivers from Boston for a three-year, $21 million deal. Rivers is one of only four active NBA coaches with an NBA title, and has become widely recognized as one of the better execution coaches of this era. Re-signing point guard Chris Paul after becoming a free agent on July 1 was much easier with the hiring of Rivers just a week prior. Frankly, the Clippers don't make it this high on my list without Doc Rivers.

But I do like the personnel additions to a Clippers roster that finished around middle-of-the-pack of the league in three-point shooting last season at just under 36 percent. For an offense that relied strongly and abusively on two-man basketball and one-on-one break downs, their lack of outside shooting threats hindered their potential to space the floor and spread the offense (even though Caron Butler and Willie Green were two of the league's best corner three-point shooters last season -- Butler shot 47 percent, Green shot 48 percent). I think this was addressed in the three-team deal that sent Eric Bledsoe and Caron Butler to Phoenix and a draft pick to Milwaukee in exchange for J.J. Redick and Jared Dudley, two notable floor spacers and system players. Compensating for the loss of Bledsoe as a bench spark is a capable Darren Collison, who started his NBA career as back-up to Chris Paul in New Orleans. 

I believe the Clippers' fate is still somewhat bound by Blake Griffin's progression. Similar to what Chris Paul iterated to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN in August, I think this team needs Griffin to have a special year under his new coach for the Clippers to make that leap. Even though Doc Rivers expressed his desire to employ more of a motion offense, the two-man crux of Paul and Griffin is still the centerpiece of their offense. A key staff addition by Rivers was Alvin Gentry, who coordinated that same kind of motion offense for several years with the Phoenix Suns. Defensively, we'll what Rivers can inspire out of his individual project of DeAndre Jordan. Between the new coach, new shooters, and left over pieces from last season (Matt Barnes, Ryan Hollins) I feel this Clipper team has more balance for this season, some are saying enough to earn them a bid to the NBA Finals.

- Martin S. @marley_mcfly

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Doc Rivers wants motion for Clippers offense

Reporting from the Clippers' scrimmage on Wednesday, Broderick Turner from the LA Times focused on the desired offense from new head coach Doc Rivers. Though Rivers wants to be a "running team", consistent with the latest strong point of "Lob City", he also wants to be a "motion team", with key words being "constant motion" and "constant movement".

Rivers knows the beautiful simplicity of your standard motion offense, and how it can be of particular benefit for this team with their new pieces. Frankly, the Clipper offense was too-often reduced to hold-the-ball isolations with Chris Paul or Jamal Crawford when it came to needing a bucket. Rivers now also has J.J. Redick and Jared Dudley, who are both willing and capable floor spacers that stretch the defense and move without the basketball. Side note: the Clippers were middle-of-the-pack of the league in three-point shooting last year at just under 36 percent. Signing on Alvin Gentry as an assistant is important if you recall the Phoenix Suns from 2009 to last year. Watch segments of that Suns offense and tell me that movement and spacing don't make a huge difference.

LINK: Chris Paul on Doc Rivers: "He told me I wasn't anything".

I still want to see Doc's development of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, in terms of utilizing Griffin's intimidation in the two-man game to open up those new shooting threats, and maybe transferring some Kevin Garnett energy to Jordan. As always, defense will be a question. The word "execution" was used in Rivers' comments to Turner, which really became a staple of his championship Boston Celtics team from 2008 and on. Granted his personnel in LA is younger and more athletic (as he acknowledged) but Doc Rivers has the resources, not to mention just as good of a point guard, to furnish this team with a structure and drive that brings teams over the hump.

Let's just wait and see the motion. 

- Martin S.

@marley_mcfly