Los Angeles Clippers they are again Western Conference leaders in the NBA. They hadn’t achieved it for a decade. Their fans are rubbing their eyes, and the players have probably celebrated the good news at home, since they didn’t even need to play to move into first position after Tuesday’s matchday. The defeats of the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Oklahoma City Thunder have placed the Angelenos at the top of the standings with a balance of 34 wins and 15 losses.
Since 2014, the Clippers have not seen themselves at the top of the standings, a place they have never occupied at the end of a full regular season. Their best result is a second place in the 2019-2020 academic year, the first in the current project that unites Kawhi Leonard y Paul George. Then cut short by the pandemic and resumed in a bubble at Disney that did not exactly favor them, since then injuries and bad luck have dogged a squad that this season has added to James Harden and keeps Russell Westbrook.
“When we figure this out, it will be scary,” La Barba warned about the current Los Angeles group. Indeed, the Clippers have been putting the rest of the league on notice for more than a month. Since their defeat against Boston before Christmas Day, their last bad streak when they chained two setbacks, their balance is 17 wins and 3 losses. In a cut microphone on TNT, Shaquille O’Neal could be heard praising the group led by Tyronn Lue. “The Clippers are serious”acknowledged the analyst and former player.
Far from being kind, the calendar has proposed challenges in recent days for LA. Their seven-date tour away from home has ended with a very competitive 6-1, and the demand that Lue transmits to his players is maximum. Even in clear victories there are points for improvement, especially in the team’s defensive intensity. In attack, with so much gunpowder it is difficult to make a mistake, that is the reality.
Kawhi Leonard, At 32 years old, he seems to be performing at an MVP level again, with averages of 24.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 34 minutes of play. He is just the spearhead of a group that he also has Paul George at full performance: 22.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 34 minutes. They practically act as a 2×1 leader for the group… without forgetting a James Harden who distributes luxury with 17.3 points and 8.6 assists and a Russell Westbrook who sacrificed himself for the good of the group and contributed 11.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 23 minutes, voluntarily starting from the bench. The great wardrobe that the group has gives many reasons to smile and have hope for the fans and the executive, excited about a group that once again smells like a ring.
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2024-02-07 08:29:25
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