The Los Angeles Clippers have been a delightful surprise in the NBA since bouncing back from a rough start once James Harden joined the team at the end of October.
However, by the end of November, the Clippers had gotten into a groove and began to gel with their new playmaking teammate. Despite how good they’ve been the past few months, there’s always something in the back of your mind that tells you all that glitters isn’t gold.
There’s a level of discernment with this team and it reared its ugly head again, Monday night in Milwaukee.
That’s been the story of these Kawhi Leonard and Paul George Clippers since they touched down in L.A. We’re in year five of this run and they aren’t any closer to winning a championship than they were upon arriving. One Western Conference Finals appearance since 2019 is not what team governor Steve Ballmer is looking for. He’s spent all this money bringing these guys in to win championships.
Monday night had to be one of the most irritating games of the season as his team visited the Bucks minus Giannis Antetokounmpo. With Leonard, George, and James Harden all on the court, playing at least 36 minutes each, L.A. lost 113-106. They allowed Damian Lillard to take over and cook them for 41 points. Bobby Portis added 28 points in an overall surprising display without Giannis.
Sure, it’s just one of 82 games but this is one the Clippers should win every time no matter where it’s played. Put ‘em on the moon and leave Antetokounmpo on earth, LA should win easily. Now of course, there’s the excuse of playing the second night of back-to-back games, after a tough win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. But those reasons are exactly why you can’t trust this team to come through when it really matters.
For the Clippers it’s got to be championship or bust this year after bringing in Harden and the run they’ve gone on since. Russell Westbrook is out after having hand surgery recently but hopes to be back for the playoffs. This squad built around Leonard and George has come up short every season yet some of these national talking heads continue to buy into the mirage.
We continue to watch this story play out and it’s the same result each time. Kawhi has even stayed healthy playing in 55 of 60 thus far. Even with this and how well Harden has fit in coupled with George, Westbrook, and others, it still feels too good to be true. The Harden collapse is usually inevitable in May, whatever Westbrook has once he returns is yet to be seen, and George has also come up short in the postseason at times.
If Leonard is on the court, they’ve got a shot no matter what else happens but up until now, it hasn’t happened. After watching four years of everything that could go wrong actually come to fruition for the Clippers, nobody should trust them to get the job done and make it through the West. We hear talk of curses in sports all the time and the Clippers are certainly one of those teams with weird energy permeating throughout the organization.
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Criss Partee
