Even before the LA Clippers season commences, talk has already ensued that the newly relocated franchise is playing on fragile ice this season. From losing a big free agent this summer to the unknown future of a healthy Kawhi Leonard, one NBA expert relinquishes high hopes of a successful Clipper campaign.
A Bleak LA Clippers Season Ahead? NBA Scholar Doubts Kawhi Leonard
A 50/50 Outlook for the LA Clippers Season
A new Clippers season is just around the corner, and Kawhi Leonard is front and center. Following the aftermath of a disappointing summer, the Clippers face an uphill road. A major bright spot this off-season was that the Los Angeles franchise will finally have its first opportunity to play in its own crib. The Clippers will open their season against the Phoenix Suns in the brand-new Intuit Dome in late October. An exciting development, indeed.
When I speak of a disappointing summer, this is in relation to the departure of Paul George in free agency. The Clippers could not retain the nine-time NBA All-Star who joined the team in 2019. Or, perhaps the Clippers could not convince George to want to stay in LA. Nevertheless, they lost him to the newly extended Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference.
Losing George is a massive hit to an NBA squad that is aging, injury-plagued, and the poster team for load management. Their injury problems lie primarily with Leonard. He again missed time last season, including most of the Clippers playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks. He played in only two games before the Clippers eventually lost to the Mavericks. What James Harden will provide is also undefined and unknown. He has a pension for producing in the regular season for the most part but falls off in the playoffs. However, it’s the playoffs where some NBA experts are holding back on the Clippers chances of even making it that far.
ESPN’s Zach Lowe isn’t Kicking it with Kawhi Leonard
Zach Lowe, ESPN analyst and NBA Today panelist, guested on The Bill Simmons Podcast, hosted by Bill Simmons. Lowe expressed his dismay with the Clippers’ off-season moves, including letting George walk. He does not expect good things from the Clippers this season.
“I am pessimistic about the Clippers, I’ve been pessimistic about the Clippers since the offseason unfolded the way it did,” Lowe said. “I still don’t really understand what they did with Paul George. God bless Ty Lue, he’s a great coach…I don’t see it. So I will be one of the people that you prove wrong… if you’re better than .500’… Kawhi will miss games,” Lowe continued. “I just don’t see it.”
Lowe also remarked on ESPN’s NBA Today that the Clippers margin for error for staying in the Play-In Tournament race is down to zero. Lowe alluded to where Leonard and Harden are presently in their careers as a setback rather than a positive element. The Clippers are entering this season in a “prove everyone wrong” mode, but Lowe isn’t buying it.
A Task Too Tall
Lowe has a solid point on this one. Kawhi will miss games, whether for long stretches due to injury or load management. Without George in the mix, Harden can no longer carry a team like he could in his Houston days. Even with the Clippers’ off-season additions of Nicolas Batum, Derrick Jones Jr. (both great pickups), Kris Dunn, and Kevin Porter Jr., these moves leave little in the belief department for any playoff chances.
Like many other teams, the squad goes as a player goes. In the Clippers case, they go as Kawhi goes. If he goes to the bench all too often, the Clippers will likely go home. You have to feel for Ty Lue here. Here’s hoping his credibility as an NBA head coach doesn’t take too much of a hit if the Clippers fail to make the postseason this year, as Zach Lowe foresees.
