New Look Los Angeles Clippers Need Another Makeover

A month and a half ago, I wrote that the Clippers were a good sleeper pick this NBA season. I take it back. I was wrong. My reasoning was right, I just failed to factor in that Mike Dunleavy was their head coach.

To be fair, they've been saddled with injuries in the early going. Baron Davis has finger and hip ailments, while Marcus Camby just appeared for the first time this season. It's excusable that they've gone 0-3 in the early going.

What's troubling is that the team looks thin, unorganized, and illogically led.

Behind Baron Davis? Jason Hart/Mike Taylor; one of the worst back-up point guard tandems in the league, and yet one of the most likely to see major playing time due to how injury-prone B-Diddy has always been. Behind Cuttino Mobley? Ricky Davis, a career loser in the NBA. In the frontcourt? Paul Davis, Brian Skinner, Steve Novak, DeAndre Jordan. It's unlikely any of them would start for the North Carolina Tar Heels.

The lack of organization can likely be attributed to the fact that their core has hardly played together before. Davis and Al Thornton never seem to be on the same page. Chris Kaman plays every game on an island while battling alone inside. And Davis is given pretty much free reign to do whatever he wants. He's a dynamic super-talent, but that's rarely a recipe for success (see: Stephon Marbury).

And the charge of illogical leadership is evidenced by the fact that Eric Gordon has barely seen the court in the early going, despite dominating in the preseason. On a team sorely outclassed on the wings in all three losses, one would think an intelligent coach would buck convention, see what was happening on the floor, and embrace the rookie for the good of the team. But it seems Dunleavy expects Gordon to somehow earn minutes with his play in garbage time cameos, a terrible environment for one to learn.

At least there will be garbage time aplenty if things don't change in Clipperland.