Interim
Los Angeles Clippers coach Kim Hughes refuses to claim credit for
Chris Kaman's progress, but the work Hughes has performed mentoring Kaman in the Big Man Arts has helped to elevate the seventh-year center's game.
On Thursday, that improvement earned Kaman his first All-Star appearance. He'll replace injured
Brandon Roy on the Western Conference roster. Kaman's invitation to Dallas is the first extended to a Clipper since
Elton Brand was voted onto the Western Conference squad in 2006.
Kaman has been indispensable to the Clippers' limited success this season. He leads the team in scoring and is the focal point of the Clippers' offense (he's the team leader in usage rate, the percentage of possessions used by a player). The Clippers are also winless in the six games Kaman hasn't been in uniform, which might be the most telling number of the bunch.
Kaman has expanded the range on his jump shot, and his footwork and ambidexterity make him a formidable post presence. That combination of skills riddles opposing defenses, which certainly have taken notice. Opponents must attend to Kaman at 17 feet -- something that hasn't traditionally been the case in past seasons.
Many teams have taken to double-teaming Kaman when he catches the ball below the foul line. Although Kaman still has room for improvement as a passer out of those double-teams, he's far more capable at finding shooters on kickouts, which helps explain his career-best assist rate this season. Then there's his plummeting turnover rate, down to 13.6. Kaman's previous best was 16.4 in 2006-07.
While still Clippers coach, Mike Dunleavy summarized Kaman's expanded skill set a few weeks ago.
"Part of it is that he's as versatile a big man as there is in the league," Dunleavy said. "Some guys are post-up guys. Some guys are pick-and-roll guys. Very few guys are guys who can do both. He can put the ball on the floor and make a pass, too."
On the defensive end of the floor, Kaman has made tremendous strides. Although his blocked shots are down, he's a far more effective pick-and-roll defender and has mastered the Clippers' defensive rotations. Statistical analyst Aaron Barzilai, who works for the
Memphis Grizzlies, measures the disparity between a team's performance when a specific player is on or off the court. According to his data, Kaman ranks as the most effective defender in the NBA. Although these metrics might not be airtight (they might say as much about the Clippers' reserves as about Kaman), there's no denying that the Clippers are a far superior defensive unit when Kaman is on the floor.
