This Bench Player Will Be Key to Clippers' Championship Run

The Los Angeles Clippers have plenty of star power on their roster. Wings Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are two of the most well-known and best players in the NBA. Even off the bench, the Clippers have Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell, possibly the best two role players in the league.

Alongside them is a player not many would expect to be key to an NBA championship. Landry Shamet may not be the flashiest name, but he will be important to the Clippers' playoff push in 2020. The man barely fit into the Clippers' Sports Illustrated cover, so why will he be the Clippers' key to success, you ask?

For all their stars, the Clippers lack an off-ball threat. Their core four who will likely play in crunch time includes George, Leonard, Harrell, and Williams, all of whom work best in isolation or pick and rolls with the ball in their hands. Shamet is the perfect fifth man to join those four players.

He thrives as an off-ball shooter. He's a long range sniper, averaging 41% from 3-point land across his first two seasons in the league. He's the 21st-best spot up shooter in the league, scoring with a 66.1% effective field goal percentage (weighted to give more value to 3-point shots).

Additonally, Shamet is as clutch as it gets. In late games, opponents will be watching the Clippers' top guns like Leonard and Georgeu, and kick out to Shamet would be the last thing they'd expect. It already worked against the Golden State Warriors in the playoffs last year.

No one would see it coming. Shamet could be the next Steve Kerr if he plays his cards right.