What the Clippers have to do to win Game 6

In the eyes of many the odds that the Clippers even up this series are very slim. San Antonio are 14-4 in these type of situations when they have a chance to close out a team on their home floor but the Clips have been the underdogs from the start and they've embraced this.

There's no doubt that the Clippers are up for a tough night, they're about to climb a mountain with a steep gradient but in order for the Clips to survive such an uphill battle and give themselves the best shot at upsetting the Spurs guys will have to step up. There will need to be changes for the Clips to tip the scale back in their favour.

 Blake Griffin Must Step Up in The 4th Quarter

This has undeniably been the best playoff series of Blake's career, he's averaging a breathtaking stat-line of 24 points, 7.2 assists and 13.4 rebounds. These numbers were last achieved by the great Oscar Robertson in 1963.

However, if one thing has become noticeable in this series, it's that Blake appears to be tired by every 4th quarter. This is no surprise considering he's probably played more minutes in this series than anyone on either the Clippers or Spurs. Due to Blake's tiredness the things he has done really well in this series such as his unstoppable face-up game he's stopped using in crunch time, instead he's settling for much more jumpers and had a few crucial turnovers. The most notable mistake coming in game 2 when he committed a crucial turnover when Clips had a chance to take the lead, this led to the game going to OT where the Spurs took control. Below is Griffin's production per quarter (NBA.com)

1st Quarter	6.8.	53.8%	0.8
2nd Quarter	7.4	57.7%	0.4
3rd Quarter	7.0	48.0%	0.6
4th Quarter	2.3	19.0%	1.3

Blake's production seems to take a heavy dip in the 4th quarters of this series and he's got to avoid this since he's depended on so much. Unfortunately, it's going to be difficult for Blake to cut down on his late game inefficiency and lack of production since his minutes are very unlikely to decrease in such a crucial game. If the Clips are going to snatch game 6 from the Spurs he must find a way to stay effective.

The Bench Must Produce

 Doc Rivers' rotation in this series has pretty much been reduced to eight players in this series. The starters and the only bench players he trusts - Jamal Crawford, Austin Rivers and Glenn 'Big Baby' Davis.

With a bench of 3 guys except for when garbage minutes are handed out these 3 guys off the bench must produce with consistency which has eluded them to this point. Jamal had a great game 1 but has been unable to replicate, the same goes with Austin and his game 4. Big Baby has provided a lot of energy for his team but he needs to put more numbers on the board if the Clips are to stay afloat when Blake or DJ sits.

If these numbers (via NBA.com) suggest anything, it's that when the bench play well so does the team.

Crawford and Rivers in the Playoffs

Player	Points in Wins	FG% in Wins	Points in Losses	FG% in Losses
Jamal Crawford	32	56.5%	24	23.0%
Austin Rivers	18	72.7%	17	36.8%

The Clippers starters have generally been better than the Spurs' at this point, the difference in the series has been the bench but if the guys off the bench produce they could turn this series around.

Better Half Court Execution

L.A.'s Efficiency By Shot Clock Segment

Shot Clock Time	FG%	3P%
22-18 seconds (Very early)	63.9%	42.9%
18-15 seconds (Early)	52.8%	42.9%
15-7 seconds (Average)	54.8%	42.1%
7-4 seconds (Late)	30.0%	16.7%
4-0 seconds (Very late)	33.3%	14.3%

Throughout this series the Clips have had times when they struggle to produce in the half court, much of this has been due to Kawhi Leonard's exceptional defense of J.J. Redick who is a huge part of the Clippers offense in the half court. However, the numbers suggest that early offense seems to work very  well of the Clippers while shots late in the clock are more likely to brick than swish. In order for the Clippers to succeed in the half court they must get as much early offense as possible and Paul and J.J. must find a way to shake of Kawhi and his lockdown defense. 

All these adjustments will help increase the Clippers chances to take this series back to staples centre for a game 7 where the Clippers will be comfortable, if not, it's going to be a long summer.