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The main core of the San Antonio Spurs have been in an offensive slump since the start of the season. The best players on the team from last year aren’t having a such a good time this season.

Although shooting fairly well, point guard Tony Parker hasn’t been as aggressive as he was last year when he took over games by himself when the team needed it. Tim Duncan who was amazingly consistent last year has been struggling to hit shots this season. Danny Green, the team’s most reliable three-point shooter last season hasn’t been very reliable. One night he is shooting lights out, the next he becomes ice cold. Kawhi Leonard is facing the same 3-point shooting woes as his percentage dipped down. Center Tiago Splitter has also regressed statistically, although much of it could be attributed to playing less minutes. Only Manu Ginobili who plays as the sixth man of the team has gotten better compared to last year.

Despite the slumping core, the Spurs still look in a pretty good position as they lead the western conference. This is all thanks to role players who have been filling in quite well for the main guys.

The team was relatively quiet in the off-season. The only significant move that they did during the summer was the signing of free agent guard Marco Belinelli who was expected to give the team an added depth and more options when it comes to playmaking. Marco has been a pleasant surprise for the Spurs as his scoring and playmaking has been much welcome as the main core of the team seems to be struggling so far this season.

However, Marco’s bag of surprises is nothing compared to what Boris Diaw has brought this season. Boris has always been the good passer and defender but a passive offensive player. This year, he has scratched off that passive part of his game. He has been aggressive with getting his own shots and not settling for passes. He willingly puts the ball on the floor and uses his great ball handling skills and footwork for some nifty plays below the basket. if he is being guarded by a smaller player, you can be sure that he’ll take advantage of such matchup. As such, he has become somewhat of go-to scorer that the team confidently relies on to make and take good shot opportunities.

Also worthy of getting mentioned is Patty Mills who spent most of last year waving towels in celebration but has now become the go-to backup point guard for the team.

A few days ago, reports from around the NBA have stated that the Los Angeles Clippers have decided to sign 34-year old forward Hedo Turkoglu for the rest of the season. The 6’10 forward offers a rare combination of size, play-making and three-point shooting. He was considered to be the second-best player after Dwight Howard on the 2009 Orlando Magic team that reached the NBA finals while playing the role of a unconventional point forward.

However, the best days might be way past for the forward who’ll be playing in his 14th season in the NBA. He hasn’t had much success after the 2009 finals. He signed with the Toronto Raptors in the off-season after that but he was largely ineffectual in 2009-10. The following season, he was sent to Phoenix Suns via trade. He was unhappy with his situation with the Suns and was traded back to Orlando a little over midway into the 2010-11 season as someone who could play well with Howard who at that time was being wooed by the Magic into staying. The team didn’t have much success in 2011-12 which added to the chaos of the Dwight conundrum which ended with the center being traded to the Lakers before the 2012-13 season started.

Going back to after his Finals appearance in 2009, his game seemed to have diminished and he was hobbled by injuries and also gotten suspended by the league due to the use of performance-enhancement drugs which many believed was aimed to help him recover faster from the said injuries. The Clippers know all of these and so with the signing of Hedo, they are basically taking a risk at paying for a player due to the way he used to play. So why take the risk?

With the team looking for an NBA title this year, they are willing to gamble.

As they are now, the Clippers are very limited when it comes to playmaking. So far this season, the team has had to rely so much on point guard Chris Paul to initiate the offense. Although Paul is adept at doing initiating the team’s offense, coach Doc Rivers understands that they can’t put all playmaking responsibility in hands of the star point guard.

If Hedo can come close to the way he used to play in his better days, he could give the Clippers an alternative and very potent offensive wrinkle that will be very important for the championship campaign.