Is 2024 the year for the clippers?
For decades, there’s been a few guarantees; death, taxes, and the Clippers being bad at basketball. The last one has remained true despite any efforts to make title contending teams. I almost feel bad, no matter what the front office tries to do, they just can’t win! This year however, they might be in a position to finally reach the promised land and make a run for the championship.
Now I said this in 2020, and let’s just say I’m glad we were all in quarantine because showing my face in public would’ve been too embarrassing. So before we talk about this season, let’s examine the season where it all began.
In the summer of 2019 in a blockbuster free agency move, the Clippers signed Kawhi Leonard then traded a variety of assets to acquire Paul George from the Oklahoma City Thunder to form a superstar duo with a solid supporting cast to back them.
This original Clippers roster showed their potential to be great during the regular season finishing second in the west, behind none other than the Lakers who won it all that season. The problem with this team was how they fell apart during the playoffs, specifically the very stars they gave up an arm and leg to get.
Struggling with the Mavericks led by a young Luka Doncic in the first round, the Clippers showed signs of trouble throughout the series. First with their star duo, Paul George and Kawhi Leanard did not play as well as expected.
George shot an atrocious 35% from the field throughout that series and 27% from three. Despite his struggles, Leonard played well averaging 32 points on 54% from the field. Without the volume shooting from their shot creating forward, the Clippers offense struggled however Leanard kept them afloat throughout the series. Not only that, but the Clippers defense lacked an answer for Doncic, but to be fair the entire NBA does too.
They barely made it out of the first round to then play the Denver Nuggets, who overcame a 3-1 deficit in their previous series against the Utah Jazz.
Denver was looking like a solid team, but many were expecting a hard fought, but nonetheless a Clippers win. With the series at 3-1 in the Clippers favor, many counted the Nuggets out especially considering the fact that they already overcame a 3-1 deficit in the previous round. So when the Nuggets bounced back and forced a game 7, many began to question the consistency of the Clippers. In those fatal games five and six, George and Leonard struggled to keep the Clippers competitive with the Nuggets. In game five, George shot a subpar 8-18 from the field with a plus minus of -3 when he was on the floor. Kawhi played well with 36 points on 12-24 but the Clippers’ supporting cast failed to do their part for the team. Game six went down in similar fashion, but the Nuggets played amazing and the Clippers’ defense had to answer for Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray who scored time and time again in the half court game on ridiculous efficiency.
With the Clippers looking like a shell of their true potential, in a decisive game seven with their backs against the wall, they completely fell apart. George had one of the most infamous games of his career, scoring 10 points on 25% efficiency with five turnovers. To his defense, the entire roster collapsed in this critical game, whereas the Nuggets played their best basketball of the series with Murray having a standout performance scoring 40 points on 57% efficiency.
After this terrible loss, many doubted the future of this roster. The Clippers kept their star duo but blew up a majority of the roster with some small changes. They picked up Serge Ibaka and signed Tyronn Lue as the new head coach.
2021 proved to be another unsuccessful season for the Clippers, however it wasn’t all bad. Finishing 4th in the West with a record of 47-25, they played well considering Paul George went down with a knee injury and Kawhi Leanord barely played. Their championship aspirations went out the window that season when Leonard went down with a torn ACL in the first round.
Regardless, George proved he could still play at a high level showing that his previous struggles in the playoffs was a fluke. In fact, George led the Clippers all the way to the conference finals, where they fell to Devan Booker and the Suns in a decisive game 6.
The following season, the Clippers finished 9th in the West as Leonard missed the entire season and Paul George missed most games due to injury. They were eliminated from playoff contention by the Timberwolves and the Pelicans.
The Clippers made some major off season acquisitions such as veteran point guard John Wall. Many questioned the production Wall could have because of his injury-riddled history, and unfortunately he was not the answer for the Clippers’ increasingly dysfunctional offense. He was not able to distribute the ball at an impactful rate, averaging five assists with a little over two turnovers. Furthermore, he averaged an inefficient 11 points on 40% from the field. Regardless of whether he could make the necessary adjustments the following seasons, the Clippers were not willing to take that chance as they wanted to win now while the window with Leonard and George was open.
Trading away John Wall for Eric Gordan, the Clippers began to move up space in free agency to sign a higher quality player that could fill the gaps in their offense. After Westbrook was traded by the Lakers to the Jazz where they then bought him out, the Clippers signed him in free agency. Westbrook initially seemed to be another deceptive solution to a huge problem with the Clippers as they finished fifth in the West. Losing in a gentleman's sweep to the Suns in the first round, many doubted the potential of this Clipper’s roster.
However, in a block-buster trade early into the 2023-24 season, the Clippers traded for James Harden to get that all-star guard they desperately needed alongside Westbrook. The Clippers sent away Marcus Morris, Nicholas Batum, KJ Martin, and a multitude of picks. With the addition of Harden many were actually skeptical at first. Time and time again, teams prioritize talent over fit and it has failed, time and time again. However many did not expect the genius coaching from Tyrone Lue, as he was able to get Harden and Westbrook to play in roles that best suited them.
With everyone focused on their job, players didn’t have to worry about playing in roles they weren’t comfortable in. For example, Westbrook doesn’t have to worry about being a shot creator with Harden on the team; he can just focus on driving to the rim and facilitating that way. He’s been averaging only 11 points which may dissuade some, however he’s doing this coming off the bench playing 22 minutes a game. Furthermore his efficiency this season has improved compared to previous ones where he was in a role that didn’t suit his style of play. With Westbrook coming off the bench he’s able to be more aggressive and fill in for the time periods where some of the other three are off.
In similar fashion, Harden has been able to maximize his production in a smaller role than he’s used to. Averaging a moderately efficient 17 points per game while also totaling an impressive 8 assists a game, he’s been able to give the Clippers’ offense the spark it’s desperately needed to put themselves in championship contention.
Kawhi Leonard has surprisingly increased his level of play this season despite the addition of Harden, averaging 24 points a night on near 50-40-90 efficiency. Paul George also has been able to up his level of play a lot to where he’s been able to score an efficient 22-23 points per game. Both Leonard and George have benefited from the addition of Harden and the newfound role for Westbrook as it takes the pressure off them for facilitating and running offense in the half court set, and allows them to focus almost solely on their shot creating and scoring.
This style of basketball has proven to be effective for the Clippers as they are 25-5 in their last 30 games, as of Feb. 5th. This ball team has shown us time and time again that they can compete against the best teams in the league and win, beat teams they’re meant to beat, make necessary adjustments when they’re down big and pull off a comeback win, and most importantly remain consistent. All these factors lead me to believe that they will continue to be great for the rest of the upcoming season and potentially the playoffs.
In the playoffs, they will most certainly face adversity and obstacles that may change the narrative about this roster. But what championship team hasn’t? Aside from any major, career ending injuries, I honestly can’t think of anything that can cause this roster to fall apart in the postseason. They have the depth needed to refrain from over relying on their stars, the size needed to compete with the physicality seen in the playoffs, and the coaching staff to make necessary changes to the gameplan when the team’s performance falters.
It’s clear that this team’s winning streak isn’t just a good run, but rather a sign to this team’s greatness. Furthermore, the West is currently full of teams that have unprecedented talent, but lack the experience needed to make a strong run in the playoffs. So that implies two truths; breaking out of the West is more than possible, but in the upcoming seasons it will become progressively more difficult as these teams gain experience and build around their talent. The only team that I have no idea if they can beat is the defending champions, the Denver Nuggets. Nikola Jokic is here to stay, and his offensive greatness requires a separate article of its own.
The Clippers have one shot at the Championship. They have one shot to make amends for all their shortcomings, failures, and mistakes. This is the last shot Harden, Westbrook, and George will get at the ring they deserve. This is the last chance Leonard will get to solidify himself as an all time great.
No one wants it more than this team. Each player brings their own strife and shortcomings to the table, and none of them plan on looking back on their time with this team as a ‘missed opportunity.’
The time for the Clippers is now. Not last season, not next season. Right here, right now.
