Don’t Look Now… But The Clips are Surging
It’s been about a month and a half since I last wrote about the Clippers. There were many instances within that frame that I wanted to write about the team’s recent form, but I kept waiting for them to slow down a little bit. Unfortunately for my writing, but very fortunately for the fan within me, that did not happen in the slightest.
After starting the season 3-7, the Instagram comment sections and Twitter mentions were LOUD. In the moment, I don’t necessarily blame them. Losing six games in a row after trading for a polarizing future Hall-of-Famer will have that effect. However, like all good and worthwhile things, you can’t experience the highs right away. You have to have trust the process, weather the storm, and experience some adversity before you begin the climb. And climb the Clippers did. Since losing seven of the first ten games of the season, the Los Angeles Clippers have gone 30-8, winning 16 of their last 19, and 8 of their last 9. They currently sit one game back of the #1 seed in the Western Conference.
Let’s take a second to break down what has led to this incredible turnaround. Off first glance? Health. Through 48 games so far (33-15 record), Paul George has played 45/48, Kawhi has played in 44/48, Harden has played in all 43 games he’s been a member of the Clippers for, and Russell Westbrook hasn’t missed a game. All of these statistics corroborate the main idea that Clippers Head Coach Ty Lue has been preaching all season: Take the regular season SERIOUSLY. Previously known as the poster boys for “Load Management” which was already a very frustrating narrative to begin with, the Clips have been healthy and they’ve been balling. Ironically enough, Zubac who has been an absolute Iron Man during his four-year tenure with the Clippers has been the only significant contributor to miss serious time (9 games), but even he is back in the rotation getting back to his groove.
In the past 30 games, the Clippers are an NBA-best 25-5. If you kept that win pace over an entire season, it would be a 68 win season for the Clips. In this 30 game span, Kawhi Leonard is averaging 25.7 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 4.0 APG on a ridiculously efficient 57/50/93% shooting. (For those of you unfamiliar, those numbers mean FG%/3PT%/FT%). Paul George is averaging 22.3 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 3.2 APG on 47/43/90% shooting. Finally, James Harden is averaging 17.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 9.5 APG on 44/41/88% shooting. These stats are incredible. Pair that with the energy that Westbrook brings off the bench, valuable contributions from Amir Coffey and Terrance Mann, and Norman Powell’s incredibly efficient 44% 3-point shooting off the bench and we are in business.
While people clowned on the move for Harden in the beginning of the year, it’s hard for them to not look foolish now. We know he doesn’t have the same burst that he had in Houston, but that’s okay. His incredible court vision, ability to stabilize the offense, and let Kawhi and PG get to their spots has proven more valuable to this team than anyone could have imagine. Kawhi and PG, as talented as they are, aren’t comfortable initiating offense. They are, however, incredibly elite and efficient at finishing plays and Harden has proved game in and game out that he can put them in a position to win by literally and metaphorically spoon-feeding them and the numbers have supported this case.
With the All-Star break and trade deadline coming up shortly, the Clippers need to take care of business and finish strong. It will be very interesting to see if any moves are made. I anticipate the Clips to trade PJ Tucker and possibly Bones Hyland in an effort to acquire a lengthy forward as that is probably the largest hole in their roster at the moment. Either way, it’s been an incredible ride so far. Easily the best Clippers team I’ve seen in my lifetime. Here’s to continuing the season on the same level of play. Go Clips!
~Michael Bannerman
Images Courtesy of @Bellikemike
