Rowan Kavner
PLAYA VISTA, Calif. – Doc Rivers glanced up with a baffled look on his face before responding to a question about whether or not Luc Mbah a Moute would become guaranteed the rest of the year.
Mbah a Moute entered the year in a battle for a final roster spot before becoming a regular starter, and late last week the Clippers needed to make a decision on his previously unguaranteed contract. Only, given how he’s played, it wasn’t much of a choice at all.
“It’s going to be a tough one,” Rivers joked.
The Clippers are now 17-5 since adding the now-guaranteed Mbah a Moute to the starting lineup. On first glance, the numbers aren’t spectacular. He’s only averaging 2.8 points and 2.3 rebounds per game, the former a career low and the latter nearly one, while shooting 43.3 percent from the floor.
Yet there’s a reason the new small forward has the team’s best net rating (22.9) the last 10 games and, despite getting injected into the starting lineup for his defense, the best offensive rating (119.2) during that time.
“He defends, he cuts, he does everything a coach would appreciate but a fan has no idea that he’s doing,” said Chris Paul.
Last year, Paul, Rivers and the rest of the Clippers talked at length about how little appreciation DeAndre Jordan would get for everything he provided on a nightly basis. Now, people are starting to notice. What they don’t see, according to Paul, is Mbah a Moute.
“Luc is the most underappreciated person on our team, in all honesty,” Paul said. “Luc is the guy. He does everything.”
That means guarding Nicolas Batum one night and Anthony Davis the next. Mbah a Moute stands 6-8, typically a size too big to keep up with smaller guards and forwards and too small to hang with powerful centers.
Mbah a Moute is the exception, and being the stopper is a role he’s grown accustomed to, whether or not his own personal numbers follow. Jordan said Mbah a Moute’s addition and ability to guard a variety of players, taking off some of the defensive burden, has been “tremendous.”
The Clippers were just 8-8 before Mbah a Moute, the forward who was supposed to be with the Kings before a disputed failed physical ended up voiding his contract, the forward who had to fight off Chuck Hayes just to get a spot on the team, entered the starting lineup and took off.
He’s immediately impacted the Clippers’ perimeter defense. Only six teams force opponents to shoot a worse percentage from deep than the Clippers, a year after they were in the middle of the pack in that area. Mbah a Moute himself is allowing just .435 points per defensive possession in isolation, the fifth fewest points in the NBA among players with at least 20 defensive possessions.
The Clippers are comfortable putting Mbah a Moute on a player and letting him go to work, and it’s a challenge he accepts.
“Especially right now with Blake (Griffin) being out, he’s even had more value, because before he was guarding the best between the two and the three,” Rivers said. “Now, he’s guarding the best between the two, three and four. It doesn’t matter the position.”
What Rivers said he loves about Mbah a Moute is he can play a lot or just a few minutes in a game, and he doesn’t notice a change in the forward’s demeanor or body language.
“He understands there’s nights we need offensive guys on the floor, we need floor-spacers,” Rivers said. “There’s nights where we need a stop, and Luc does it. I’ve always thought it’s easier for guys who are defensive-minded to accept their roles, because that’s what they do.”
Mbah a Moute has no problem with that, and his teammates notice.
“You’re built from your character,” said Jamal Crawford. “And, I think it shows the character of our team and the guys we’ve put together, it’s pretty much do whatever is asked, sacrifice and adjust.”
That’s exactly what Mbah a Moute’s done offensively, and he’s starting to understand how to fit in on that end of the floor with his new group. He knows he’s going to get his chances playing around a nucleus of players who’ve been together for years, and he’s figuring out when, where and how those chances will come.
Mbah a Moute’s upped his scoring averaging in January to 6.8 points per game, scoring a season-high 14-point performance on 6-for-6 shooting against the Pelicans.
“What I’ve been doing more lately is making the open cuts, making moves to the basket, trying to hit open shots when they’re open,” Mbah a Moute said. “When you play with such good players, you’re going to get your opportunities. Just take advantage of them.”
