I’d read recently on Kevin Pelton’s Statistical Analysis Primer that “Effective Field-Goal Percentage was invented by current L.A. Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy.”

Dunleavy as statistical innovator came as some surprise because the Clippers aren’t regarded as an organization on the vanguard of advanced analytics. By Dunleavy’s own admission, he wasn’t looking to glean any rarefied knowledge about the basketball universe when he came up with effective field goal percentage. He was just trying to negotiate a fair contract in the latter half of his playing career.  More...

• For updates, please subscribe to Clipperblog’s Twitter feed.
• Blake Griffin sat out practice with a bruised left patella. It appears to be nothing serious, and there was no visible swelling on his knee. He spent the morning working out on the elliptical machine and the like.
• The Clippers have a 15th roster spot if they’re wowed by Anthony Roberson, Kareem Rush, Taj Gray and Jerel McNeal, the non-roster invitees in camp. “You’re always looking for shooting,” Dunleavy said. If the Clippers do add a 15th player — improbable but not impossible — it would likely be a 2 guard who can fill it up from the outside. Roberson certainly fits that description. The problem with him is that he’s useless once you chase him off the line.

An NBA team’s media day isn’t unlike the first day of school. Although nothing of consequence happens, the two-hour photo shoot and schmoozefest mark the start of the NBA season. The official training camp roster is handed out like a syllabus. Players and beat writers who haven’t seen one another in months exchange hugs. And from this day on, each rostered player is the property of his NBA team. Voluntary workouts are now mandatory, and the real basketball course work begins.

A few observations from Staples Center:

K.A. ran a post over at TrueHoop today where he experiments with Brett Hainline’s new efficiency swap machine:

Yesterday, we made mention of Brett Hainline’s swap machine, which uses a player’s offensive and defensive efficiency ratings to determine how swapping one player out for another would improve your team’s overall performance.

Once Hainline went live with it, I immediately did what any Los Angeles Clippers fan would do — nixed the uniquely inefficient Al Thornton from the starting lineup. To fill Thornton’s place at small forward, I opted for efficiency poster boy Shane Battier.  More...

From Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times:

The idea of hiring John Lucas had been percolating in Mike Dunleavy’s mind for quite a while, and finally it came time to put it out there.

“It was one of those ideas,” said Dunleavy, the Clippers’ general manager and coach. “Hey, unless I ask him, I won’t know.”

Dunleavy said Thursday morning that Lucas, a respected former NBA player and coach, was at the team’s offices in Playa Vista and would be joining the Clippers’ coaching staff.  More...