The Clippers entered the playoffs last season as one of the most dangerous teams in the bracket as they were really red hot at the time. They finished the regular season on a 18-3 run in which they won their last eight games including an epic win at Golden State on the final day. However, they ended up being eliminated by the Nuggets in 7 games in the first round, the third season in a row where they got ousted in the first round of the postseason. The LA team could have won their series but they struggled in the clutch in a couple of games that Denver ended up winning.
Ty Lue got some votes for coach of the year and he deserved such consideration. The Clippers were the #3 best defense in the league – their best defensive ranking in this century. However, they were just an average team on offense. Such offensive mediocrity was mostly due to the lack of availability from Kawhi Leonard, who only played 37 games, after having played 68 games in the previous season. The good news is that when Leonard was on the court, the Clippers were a dominant team with an elite offense: 1180 minutes | 122.27 offensive rating | 109.5 defensive rating | +12.77 net rating. Naturally, Leonard’s availability this season will be a key factor for the team, something that we cannot take for granted as he is 34 years old and has a history of injuries.
The Clippers are also coming from a very busy offseason. They traded Norman Powell, who was coming from an amazing season but the team did not want to offer him a new contract as he entered the final year of his current deal and so, they traded him. They got Bradley Beal after he was waived by Phoenix, in a deal that will only make the Clippers pay him 5M a year, so a great move in theory.
James Harden logged 35.3 minutes per game last season and that’s probably too much for him at the current stage of his career. The Clippers agreed with that and so, they signed veteran Chris Paul who is still more than capable of handling those limited minutes. In order to bolster their frontcourt, the Clippers also signed John Collins and Brook Lopez. These two players were starters for most of their careers, but they could end up being backups in this roster, which shows how deep the depth of the Clippers’ roster is. Historically, having so many veterans in one team isn’t a good recipe for success, in a league where the current champions OKC has a roster full of young players. However, the Clippers built a solid roster with a lot of solutions and has a great coach leading it. This depth might end up being very important during the regular season, as they should then be able to manage the minutes of their veterans. Independently from this, they will also need Leonard to play more than 37 games in order to truly be a top team in the West.