The Clippers’ offense is different without Blake Griffin, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing

It was just one play in a game full of emphatic dunks, backbreaking threes and the kind of moments that make the Clippers such a flammable team. And it wasn’t nearly as exciting as any of that.

But it once again illustrated an important fact about these Clippers: They are a much different offensive team without star power forward Blake Griffin, and different does not mean bad. Different, actually, can be very good.

On this play, Chris Paul worked a pick and roll with DeAndre Jordan and Jordan expectedly rolled to the rim. Except no other Nuggets defenders came to help because they stayed glued to Raymond Felton, Luc Mbah a Moute and J.J. Redick on the perimeter. Griffin, though dynamic offensively, doesn’t demand the same kind of attention away from the basket, and his man will often clamp down on Jordan in the post.

Now the floor was wide-open for Jordan, and he sealed Danilo Gallinari off the block before making a layup through a foul.

“When you have shooting out there and playmakers and room to attack, and you have a great roller like [Jordan], that puts a defense in a bind,” Nuggets Coach Mike Malone said before his team lost to the Clippers, 119-102, on Tuesday.

“Blake Griffin’s a great player, but it does allow them more room to play what Chris Paul does best in my opinion, pick and roll and then pick your part depending on how you’re guarding it.”

Griffin underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on his right knee on Tuesday and is expected to miss four to six weeks. The Clippers (21-8) are not better without him, as Griffin is one of the league’s best offensive forwards (he averages 21.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game) and a versatile defender. But their offense does morph into what many NBA offenses want to be: a spread pick-and-roll team with an All-Star point guard-center pairing surrounded by shooters.

This is not a new look for the Clippers — Griffin missed 47 regular-season games last season — and it remains a very effective one.

“The thing is, by playing small and playing Paul [Pierce] at the four, it allows us to spread the floor a little bit more,” Clippers shooting guard J.J. Redick said after the win over the Nuggets. “Defensively we may have matchup issues and we’ll just have to go game by game on that.”

Pierce started 38 games last season, and Tuesday’s lineup of him, Paul, Redick, Mbah a Moute and Jordan was a familiar one. Clippers Coach Doc Rivers said the lineup will change based on the opponent, and Austin Rivers and Brandon Bass can also fill Griffin’s spot. But the offense will open up in most situations, especially when Pierce and Austin Rivers are on the wing. It also helps that Mbah a Moute has become a steady contributor on offense and is shooting 43.5% on corner threes.

Paul will always be the Clippers’ primary ball-handler, but Griffin frequently initiates the offense or plays in isolation from the elbow. His usage rate of 28.6% (usage rate measures how often a possession ends with a given player making a shot, missing a shot or committing a turnover) ranks 21st in the NBA, eighth among forwards and centers and first on the Clippers. Without him the Clippers are down a player they can always turn to for a bucket. There is, however, a higher emphasis on ball movement and many more Paul-Jordan pick-and-roll sets.

Redick noted after Tuesday’s game that someone has to use all the possessions Griffin normally accounts for. Him, Paul and Jordan are the likely candidates to, but it’s also more likely for the ball to be sprayed around the perimeter. The Clippers finished with 32 assists against the Nuggets, and it was the fourth time this season they had 30 or more assists. Griffin did not play in two of those games.

“We got a lot of guys who are spacing the floor,” Jordan said after beating the Nuggets. “You know you got [Paul] down there who can knock down a shot, [Mbah a Moute] is shooting the ball great, [Redick] who was on fire tonight and then [Pierce] was out there, that kind of changes our unit up a lot so there aren’t as many people to bump me as I roll as there usually is.

“When those guys are knocking down shots, you know, it’s tougher. And even when they aren’t guys got to pull in and they are in rhythm. So guys got to pick their poison and if we can get rolls, dunks and threes too we’re pretty tough.”

That all happens when Griffin is on the floor. But right now it’s important for the Clippers that those things can be even more common when he is on the bench.

jesse.dougherty@latimes.com

Twitter: @dougherty_jesse