The start was disastrous, but things have been going well for the Los Angeles Clippers since December. Finding the right formula was only a matter of time for three of the best players of their generation. Is 2024 finally the year in which Daniel Theis’ club makes a big breakthrough in the playoffs?
From Seb Dumitru
The “other team from LA” – the constant insult to the second team from the City of Angels sits like a thorn deep in the psyche of the Clippers, their protagonists and fans.
While the Lakers were able to pull a record 17 championship banners under the ceiling in the “Crypto.com Arena”, the Clippers have to cover the success markers of the more prominent competition when they play their home games in the shared hall.
New jerseys, a new logo, plus the brand new, ultra-modern, finally own arena (“Intuit Dome”) – all of that is still a few months away. This season, Steve Ballmer, one of the richest men in the world, wanted to lay the sporting foundation for the long-anticipated move to Inglewood, a good 30 minutes southwest of downtown Los Angeles. No price is too high for the enthusiastic team owner to create a winner. (Sunday, 8 p.m. live: Milwaukee Bucks at LA Clippers on ProSieben MAXX, Joyn, ran.de and in the ran app)
Only two teams have had a higher regular season win percentage since Ballmer took over (Golden State and Boston). After the first round exit last year and completely missing the postseason in 2022, the motivation to make amends was great. Despite having the second most expensive squad in the league and three All-Stars on the roster, the focus was on Philadelphia, where a disgruntled James Harden boycotted the 76ers – with only one goal in mind: to also find their way home.
Disastrous start despite the Big Four
So the fourth “Hometown Hero” should fix it. Alongside the three other high school stars from Los Angeles, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook, Harden was considered exactly the right man to bring the many individual pieces together perfectly thanks to his incomparable skills as a point guard, conductor and initiator of the attack to maximize the potential of this force.
The start of the season was catastrophic. The trade for Harden at the end of October was only a few days old; the Clippers had sent a large part of their depth at the wing positions to Philadelphia in exchange for “The Beard”. The newly formed “Big Four” seemed haphazard, standing in each other’s way and standing on each other’s feet, while the super team lost six duels in a row. A 3-7 record after ten games was exactly the opposite of what they had actually imagined with the Clippers.
the essentials in brief
“Nobody wanted to step on anyone else’s toes. Everyone had a lot of respect for each other. That can sometimes be damaging because everyone holds back,” says Clippers coach Ty Lue. “When you have several great players like that who can score like crazy, sometimes it’s too easy. Why should I run hard or cut when I can just catch and throw? But in the playoffs that doesn’t work anymore. That’s why we have to establish the right patterns beforehand.”
The media scolding was enormous, the Californians were pilloried for their aggressiveness in terms of personnel planning and their soft demeanor. Why tear apart an actually good team just to sign another controversial former MVP past his prime? Harden himself denied any responsibility for the poor start, spoke of the “Harden system” and that the team only had to trust in him and his abilities. Leonard urged patience and that together they would “solve it somehow.”
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Adjustments, extra layers, monster run
Coach Lue is one of the most astute tacticians in the Association. The three-time NBA champion (2000 and 2001 as a player with the Los Angeles Lakers, 2016 as a head coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers) knows exactly which levers to pull and buttons to push to calibrate the right speed. At the same time, he is one of the best in his field when it comes to dealing with big egos, with superstars, with all those who stand out a little more in the closed team structure.
And he knows how to stay calm in difficult times like no other. He has coached the Clippers back into a series after being 0-2 down several times; with the Cavaliers he achieved a sensational 1-3 comeback in the finals against the Golden State Warriors eight years ago. Even during the difficult beginning with Harden, he remained cool, encouraged his protagonists to continue working and to give themselves time.
Harden and Co. stayed after training and put in extra shifts, especially to perfect the chemistry and fine-tuning in the pick-and-roll with big men Ivica Zubac and the newly signed Daniel Theis. “The Beard” was slowly but surely coming into form. Nevertheless, the engine sputtered and the four stars couldn’t find traction.
It wasn’t until Westbrook suggested Lue come off the bench in mid-November that everything started to click for the Clippers. Terrance Mann replaced the all-time triple double leader in the top five. More balance between starters and reserves, as well as Westbrook’s unmistakable infusion of energy as the sixth man, ensured the first joint successes and five wins from the next eight games.
Slowly but surely the wind came into the sails. Led by the best wing duo in the league and one of the best guards of his generation, LA suddenly found its identity. As the players became more comfortable, Lue perfected his rotations. “I think we finally have the necessary familiarity with each other and now know the combinations that work. Our players know their roles, their minutes and our style of play and feel comfortable. Everything is working really well for us now.”
The Clippers roared off perhaps the most impressive run of any team this season, winning 26 of 31 games beginning in December and rocketing up the West standings. The attack established itself as the most explosive in the league – especially when the Big Three Harden-George-Leonard is on the floor. Wins against Denver, Boston, Minnesota, Oklahoma City and Phoenix reinforced the image of a veritable championship contender.
Is 2024 finally the year of clips?
These Clippers have answered all the questions this regular season and completely forgotten the initial fears. Top values in offense (4th), net rating (6th) and point difference (5th), plus respectable defense (rank 13)… All of these basic values point to a real title contender in 2024 there. The second-best three-point rate and top 5 values in true shooting and effective field goal hit rate are further arguments for this offensive monster.
Leonard’s stoic calm and robotic inevitability is well documented. Finally recovered from his many injuries, the 32-year-old is showing again why he was twice Finals MVP and was not long ago considered the most complete player in the world. George is one of the most versatile players in the NBA, a true two-way wing without a single weakness and a deadly shooter on the move – whether from the pull-up or via catch-and-shoot. Harden is the pick-and-roll maestro, an imperious manipulator of angles, shot clock and opponent attention who brings out the full power of this starting group.
Overall, this team is more versatile and stronger at the top than ever before. And the style of play is tailor-made for the postseason, when defenses are tougher, the pace is slower and the spaces are tighter. The Clippers run more isolations and score more points than any other team in the NBA – with overwhelming efficiency to boot (1.06 PPP). They score the second-most points and third-most three-pointers per game from pure pull-up throws. And thanks to Harden, they are now one of the best blocking-and-rolling teams.
Things have been a little quieter recently (6-6 record in the last four weeks), and the ghosts of the past always hover over these stars and this franchise. The injury concerns for Leonard and George remain unchanged, as does the giant pink elephant: Harden’s playoff performances. Westbrook, who is currently out with a broken left hand, is also not without controversy – but he should be fit again for the playoffs and he knows how to win there.
And so the current mini-slump isn’t really a cause for concern, even if the chances of first place in the conference dwindle with every defeat. LAC is currently three wins behind the top spot in the West. Fourth place and therefore home advantage in round one seems certain.
For these veterans, the remaining weeks will be about optimizing a few things and then conserving strength for the brutal journey through the West playoffs. “Our focus is on the details,” explains Harden. “We want to minimize our mistakes, not beat ourselves. Then it will be difficult for teams to beat us four times in the playoffs.” In fact, this collection of stars is considered to have one of the best chances of dethroning the reigning champion Denver Nuggets.
The team has impressively proven that it can keep up with any heavyweight and can always find an extra gear in its attack. All that matters now is the title. In fact, the chances are better than ever. “We all understand what’s at stake here,” says George. “It doesn’t matter how it works, who throws, who scores in front. We only think about winning. We have all achieved everything individually in this league. It’s all about one thing now: winning something big together!
2024-03-09 16:23:48
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