Los Angeles Clippers: Rookie backcourt should get bulk of minutes

The Los Angeles Clippers drafted a new backcourt in the 2018 NBA Draft yet neither may see a ton of playing time in their rookie season.

With two lottery picks in the 2018 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Clippers had the potential to do something truly special. While the 12th and 13th overall picks are not as highly touted, there have been some true difference makers to come out of those spots in the draft.

Expecting the Clippers to draft a superstar with one of those picks is unfair. The chances of landing a true star after 11 other teams passed on him are far from a surefire thing.

However, it is not unfair to expect the Clippers to make quality picks and that they did. Los Angeles picked up the fourth-best point guard in the draft in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who probably would have been a top six or seven pick in most other draft classes.

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Behind him, the Clippers selected Jerome Robinson; a guard with a true knack for scoring out of Boston College. Out of everyone expected to go in the mid-first round, Robinson arguably has the biggest chance of being a true breakout star.

While he still has a ton of work to do, Robinson does have that potential, hence why fellow rookies voted him as the second-most likely rookie to have the best career.

Overall, these selections are solid and you cannot really fault the Los Angeles Clippers for the picks that were made. However, the Clippers could make a mistake when it comes to giving the rookies the mintues they deserve.

While there is still a ton of time until the regular season and a good amount of things to examine in practice and the preseason, the fact remains that the Los Angeles Clippers have a surplus of guards, especially after drafting two and re-signing one.

Just at point guard, the Clippers have Patrick Beverley, Milos Teodosic and Gilgeous-Alexander. Gilgeous-Alexander likely will get the bulk of the minutes, however, it would not be surprising to see Doc Rivers favor the defense of Beverley, especially early on.

Plus, Teodosic entered his rookie season with a ton of promise last season. The Clippers giving up on him so soon seems unlike the team.

It is at shooting guard where things really get complicated for the Clippers and the rookie. Ahead of Robinson at shooting guard is both Bradley and Lou Williams, which will greatly hurt Robinson’s playing time.

The Clippers would not have re-signed Bradley if he was not going to have a role next season and of course, the team is going to give as many minutes as possible to Williams off the bench.

That leaves no real room for Robinson to play alongside Gilgeous-Alexander with Gilgeous-Alexander also receiving a three-way split of 48 minutes.

While it is good to stay fresh and avoid playing a ton of minutes, it would be extremely helpful for a Clippers team with little roster turnover to work on the young backcourt and to get that firing on all cylinders.

Right now, that does not seem to be the plan. While plans change, both Gilgeous-Alexander and Robinson may not get the playing time they deserve.

Of course, it is always good to stay deep in the case of an injury, those naturally happen throughout the season. However, it should not have to take an injury for the Los Angeles Clippers rookies to actually receive some playing time.