The Clippers, on the other hand, come into the postseason with a big question mark. Once again it’s about the health of Kawhi Leonard, who first had back problems and then missed the last eight games of the season with knee problems. The team is keeping a very low profile. Coach Ty Lue gave a vague answer to the question of whether he was worried about a possible loss in the playoffs: “No, not at the moment.”
The Clippers are a black box in this regard, injury updates are virtually non-existent. As of now it is pure speculation as to what is going on with Leonard’s knee – the knee in which the cruciate ligament and meniscus have already torn. But even without Kawhi, the Clippers have been playing better basketball recently after Paul George criticized their “lack of identity” after an embarrassing home loss to the Hawks. At least 9 of the following 13 games were won.
Nevertheless, the lightness in Los Angeles has been somewhat lost after the Clippers shot down almost everything that came their way in December and January (26-5). They were still leading the West on February 6th, but after that things went downhill a bit (only 17-14). Noticeable: The defense collapsed; the Californians had big problems, especially with fast teams. Only Utah and Memphis have been caught more often in transition since February 6th. But at the same time, this is something that should be able to be fixed fairly quickly.
2024-04-15 07:49:00
#NBA #Playoffs #Clippers #Dallas #Mavericks #Luka #Doncic #advantage
