The Los Angeles Clippers are going into year five of the 213-era with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. In the first four years, the one year that they can hang their hat on is the 2020-2021 season when they made their first-ever Western Conference Finals appearance with an injured Leonard in the middle of the second round. This past season was the best chance for the Clippers to make a serious run for their first-ever NBA Championship title, but they didn’t take the regular season seriously to develop good habits into the playoffs. Between load management, precaution with the training staff and bad lineups, it was a bad season for the Clippers, including head coach Ty Lue.
Coach Lue appeared on All The Smoke with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson talking about the past, present and future of the Clippers. Among the biggest storylines on the show was the conversation Lue talked about the Clippers should take the regular season. The idea of the team taking the season seriously without the help of load management was believed to happen before the start of the season, but that concept was utilized even more. This past season might be a wake-up call for Lue, Leonard, George and the team, but the timing might be too late. The Clippers are older with some worry that the roster might be old to stay healthy.
How the L.A. Clippers can take the regular season seriously?
Trade or develop a reliable shooting guard
One of the biggest topics of the Clippers this offseason is the potential trade of guard James Harden from the Philadelphia 76ers. Getting Harden immediately takes the pressure off of Leonard and George from overworking themselves during the regular season. This potentially saves them from injury. He is more of a role player now than a star offensive scorer, but he is still explosive score.
If the talks between the Clippers and the 76ers remain at a stalemate, it leaves the door open for a player like Terance Mann to take a more aggressive offensive role. With an established point guard like Russell Westbrook, the support of the front office and the continuing development throughout the offseason, Mann is more than capable of being that third shooter from around the court. This past season, Mann averaged 8.8 points per game (on a limited offensive role thanks to Lue) shooting a field-goal percentage of 51.9% and a three-point shooting percentage of 38.9%. Mann can easily become one of the top scorers on the team after Leonard, George and Norman Powell. He’ll need a confidence boost and the engagement to test his offensive potential.
Clippers need Russell Westbrook to be the top leader through the regular season
Clipper Nation hated the addition through free agency of Westbrook at first. Throughout the last few games of the season, the move for Westbrook showed it was the right move to make. In the 21 regular season games played, Westbrook averaged 15.8 points per game shooting a field-goal percentage of 48.9% and a three-point shooting percentage of 35.6%. He also averaged 7.6 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.1 steals during that span.
During the first-round matchup against the Phoenix Suns, Westbrook was a huge asset offensively and defensively. In those five games, Westbrook averaged 23.6 points, 7.4 assists, 7.6 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. Even in games where he struggled to shoot the ball, Westbrook was a difference-maker on defense. His urgency, intensity, speed and leadership gave the Clippers new life. These attributes were lacking during the regular season last year.
Westbrook coming back on a two-year deal brings new life to the Clippers in a somewhat familiar, but more established roster than the opening tip-off lineup. He’ll need to be a leader as a mentor to the young player and a motivator/facilitator to the veterans. Westbrook could be the missing link to keeping the 213-Era players locked in, focused and healthy for the regular season.
Kawhi or Paul George needs to play more in the regular season
The success of the 213-era has been tough to determine with Leonard and George missing many games regular season games. Missing a lot of the games in the regular season fails to develop continuity and rhythm. This concept helped the Denver Nuggets win their first NBA title this past season.
Of the 328 regular season games in the 312 Era, Leonard and George have played 118 games together. In those 118 games, the Clippers are 83-35 (70.3%). This does count the 2021-2022 NBA Season where Leonard was out for the year with a torn ACL.
There is no denying that both Leonard and George have been injured numerous times during the first four years. That is something that cannot be changed or blamed. The biggest problem with them, however, is the concept of load management. There is no doubt that both players play with heart and love for the game. Unfortunately, the prevalence of load management seems to take that away. Load management must reduce to a minimum or shed completely for the Clippers. Minimizing load management helps to build some continuity and rhythm for this upcoming season. This might be the last chance for the Clippers to win their first NBA championship under this current roster.
