Are the Los Angeles Clippers Really the Best Offensive Team Ever on Paper as Per NBA Legend Gilbert Arenas? Claim?

NBA superstar James Harden forced his way out of the Philadelphia 76ers and joined the Los Angeles Clippers. The move has been the talk of the town in recent weeks. With this, the Clippers now have a big four of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Russell Westbrook, and Harden. Even though they were one of the most dominant players during their prime, they are not in their prime anymore. However, that does not mean they won’t be successful. But most fans are not ready to give the Clippers any chance given the stars’ ages. On the other hand, veteran Gilbert Arenas thinks they are, on paper, the best offensive team ever. But are they really?

The Clippers’ move for Harden was met with severe disappointment from many fans. A lot of fans were not happy about the way Harden left the 76ers. Also, most fans did not like the fact that this was his fourth team in the last four years. Furthermore, many were skeptical about his performance on the court as well.

NBA veteran Gilbert Arenas’ claim about the Los Angeles Clippers

There is no denying that James Harden was an unstoppable scorer during his time with the Rockets where he won the NBA MVP award. So Harden joining hands with former MVP and teammate Russell Westbrook and superstars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard has put the spotlight on the Clippers. Notably, NBA legend Gilbert Arenas recently talked about the team and claimed that the Clippers are the best offensive team ever on paper.

Arenas said, ?Who else are you going to take? From the 70?s, 80?s all the way until 99?-2000, it was all like defense. You were trying to stack your team defensively. You didn?t really focus on offense. When your thinking about offensive players, there is rarely 3 players that average 20 points, that was rare. Now you got four. Kawhi might be the weakest scorer out of the 4. That says a lot.?

The former 3x All-Star’s statement has some truth to it. It is not often you have a team where four players could drop 20 points on any given day. However, not everyone in the big four consistently score 20. Westbrook has only been averaging a little over 15 points in his last three seasons. But it has to be noted that the guard averaged 23 points during the playoffs last year. The other three can average 20.

But Arenas’ statement about teams in the past being defensive is not completely true. Over the years, the league has seen huge shifts in points scored multiple times. The league’s average points have been as low as 67.8 in the 1946-47 season and as high as 118.8 in the 1961-62 season as per Basketball Reference. Also, the league average was consistently around 118 during the 1960s. The highest league average in recent times was last year with 114.7 points.

Given the high-scoring nature of the 1960s, the iconic Boston Celtics led by the legendary Bill Russell are arguably the best offensive team on not just paper, but in reality. The 1959-60 title-winning Celtics team had four players averaging close to 20 points per game. However, many would argue that the competitiveness at the time was not very high. So, for the sake of the debate, let’s just look at teams from the past three decades to find better offensive teams on paper. Also, we will only look at teams with a big three who could average 20 and another decent starter. But we are only looking for how good a team looked on paper before a season and not looking at teams’ offensive ratings.

The 2003-04 Los Angeles Lakers

NBA legends Karl Malone and Gary Payton joined superstars Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, and the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2003-04 season. The Lakers led by their young stars have achieved the elusive three-peat just one season prior and Malone and Payton joined them for a shot at their first title. Similar to the current Clippers, all four stars could score 20 points against any defense.

Shaq and Kobe were easily averaging over 20 at the time. Also, Malone and Payton averaged 20 points per game the previous season for their respective teams. Furthermore, in the 2002-03 season, the league’s points average was just 95.1.

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So, when Malone and Payton joined the Lakers in 2003, the team had four players who could score 20 which brings the Big Four’s contribution to 80 on paper. Considering the league average, this Lakers team is arguably a better offensive team on paper than the Clippers. However, it is no secret that things did not work out in the Finals against the Detroit Pistons. Also, Malone and Peyton did not average 20 points that season considering they were at the backend of their respective careers.

The 1996-97 Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets led by Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler won two straight championships in 1994 and 95. In 1996, NBA legend Charles Barkley joined the Rockets in an attempt to win his first-ever title. Even though all three stars were nearing the end of their careers, there was massive excitement about Barkley’s arrival. However, there was some skepticism as well. But many were optimistic given the stars’ abilities on both ends of the court.

When it comes to scoring, all three could easily score 20 points on their day. Olajuwon had been comfortably averaging over 20 points at the time. Drexler averaged 19.3 points the previous season, and over 20 points in the previous few seasons. Barkley had never averaged below 20 points, except in his rookie season. Furthermore, even though he was not a star, Mario Elie was averaging over 11 points off the bench the previous year. He was poised to be a starter for the 1996-97 season. So there was a huge hype around the team.

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In the year prior, the league’s point average was 99.5. Again, this team was possibly better on paper than the current Clippers. However, the experiment did not work out. After Drexler’s retirement, Scottie Pippen took his place as a star in the team. But it did not work out again.

The 2007-08 Boston Celtics

The first team on this list that was not just good on paper but successful as well is the Boston Celtics led by NBA legends Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Rajon Rondo. The team ultimately won the 2007-08 title against the Lakers. Interestingly, this was a team that was not just known for its defense, it is considered one of the best defensive teams ever. With assistant head coach Tom Thibodeau and head coach Doc Rivers’ defensive philosophies, and the stars doing their defensive duties, the team crippled their opponents’ offense.?

They were still great on the offense as well. However, when we are looking for just the Big 3’s scoring and another player, we should consider this team for the argument. Especially because they were successful with multiple superstars. The Celtics’ superstars were arguably better scorers than the Clippers. Ahead of the 2007-08 season, Garnett and Allen joined Pierce, Rondo, and the Celtics.

In the previous year, while KG averaged 22.4 points for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Allen averaged 26.4 for the Seattle Supersonics. Similarly, Pierce averaged 25 points in Boston in the year prior. In his rookie season, Rondo showed glimpses of his potential and was all set to be a starter in 2007. So the fans were excited for things to come and it happened immediately as the Celtics won the title.

Notably, in the previous season, the league average was 98.7 points per game. So, on paper, the Celtics’ offense was better than the Clippers and they also made it work.

Back-to-back champions Golden State Warriors

We have saved the best of the bunch for last with the 2016-17 Golden State Warriors. The Warriors were already a great team with the emergence of superstars like Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green winning the 2014-15 title. In the next year, the team finished the season 73-9 and broke the regular season record set by Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. However, the Dubs lost the Finals against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in disastrous fashion.

So, the next year, the team added Kevin Durant to the already stacked lineup to fight for championships consistently. And they did just that winning two straight rings against James and the Cavs in the Finals. In the 2015-16 season, Curry averaged over 30 points and became the first and only unanimous NBA MVP. It was his second straight MVP title as well. While Thompson averaged 22 points, Green scored 14 points per game. For the OKC Thunder, Durant averaged 28.2 points. So the expectation and pressure was through the roof.

The league average that year was 102.7 points per game. So, after the arrival of Durant, the fabulous four of the Warriors are better on paper than the current Clippers. Also, they were not just good on paper, they delivered on the court as well. Notably, KD, Curry, and Klay averaged over 20 points per game in the next two seasons to win two rings. Green also played a huge role in the offense as well as the fourth-best scorer. Furthermore, they also had multiple players who could step up when required.

The Clippers are definitely one of the best offensive teams on paper currently. But they are not the best offensive team ever on paper. We can list a few more teams with better offense on paper as well. However, if their stars can be healthy, work in tandem, and with their bench’s support, they can achieve something big. It will be an interesting season for Clippers fans nevertheless.

Editorial Disclaimer:?The?views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of EssentiallySports.