We all fawned over the Los Angeles Clippers when they announced that they would be adding all-stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to their lineups.
We thought that their addition to a scrappy team that already featured Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell, and Patrick Beverley was a perfect cheat code that made them the consensus favorites to run away with the Western Conference – even over the Lakers who had also upgraded by adding Anthony Davis to the mix.
Today’s close 110-103 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers put another dent in their chase for the top seed in the west, and also reminded us that having Leonard and George in the lineup doesn’t automatically translate into wins.
The Clippers have a number of holes that opponents can exploit.
An offense that sputters at times
The Clippers have a habit of slowing down their scoring at inopportune times. A 16-5 run in the third quarter is what allowed the 76ers to open an 11-point lead in the second half.
The Clippers offense sputtered again toward the end of the fourth quarter, where they were only able to score 11 points from four field goals in the final six minutes of the game. This is what allowed the 76ers to push the lead from 96-92 with 6:04 remaining to 109-97 with two minutes remaining in the game.
Compared to their other come-from-behind wins, the Clippers couldn’t rely on their talent simply overwhelming the opposition. A good example of this was their 108-105 victory against the San Antonio Spurs last week.
A slow offense is all right when they’re playing the likes of the Spurs. When they try to come from behind against more talented teams that feature Joel Embiid (26 PTS, 9 REB), Ben Simmons (26 PTS, 12 REB, 10 AST), and Josh Richardson (21 PTS, 5 REB, and Tobias Harris (17 PTS, 12 REB, 5 AST), the Clippers have a very bad time.
They lose when Kawhi and PG sit, but also when they play
A much-discussed topic is the Clippers’ load management strategy when Leonard plays. Sure, they want to keep him fresh for the playoffs. That’s understandable.
But they’re supposed to be nigh-unstoppable when both Leonard and George play in a game, and this just hasn’t been the case.
The Clippers have had a few noteworthy losses with their star duo both playing in games. There was a 120-107 defeat to the Utah Jazz in December, and a 142-115 embarrassment against the Minnesota Timberwolves a couple of days ago.
It’s also worth nothing that having Leonard and George doesn’t always seem to ensure better results against the same opponent. When they were both missing against the Milwaukee Bucks in November, the Clippers lost a narrow 129-124 game. The rematch saw the pair of stars both play over 30 minutes, but the Clippers suffered a massive 119-91 defeat. If the Clippers make it to the NBA Finals, they’ll likely be facing the Bucks – an extremely difficult proposition.
Leonard and George simply haven’t had enough time to gel together on the court, and you’ve got to wonder if that’s going to affect their rhythm in the playoffs.
It would be silly to say that the Clippers aren’t contenders. Sitting third in the Western Conference behind the Lakers and Denver Nuggets isn’t exactly a shameful spot. However, the way they have struggled, and have sometimes had to force victories through sheer talent, may not be the best strategy in the postseason.
The Clippers simply need to do more. It’s not like their other options are not contributing as much as possible. Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell are both averaging 19 points a game, and they’ve now also loaded up even more with Marcus Morris Sr.
Their two stars need to be more consistent.
