This was always going to be the only thing that would take the Clippers down. The Los Angeles Clippers have been dealt a huge blow to their playoff chances as Paul George went down last night with a knee injury that’ll keep him out for at least the next two weeks.
This Clippers team lacks for nothing except availability.
Last night, Paul George has once again gone down with an injury as he fell awkwardly on his knee going up for a rebound against the Oklahoma City Thunder, which the Clippers ended up losing 101-100. So, in other news, there’s nothing new to see here, folks.
Truely, if Kawhi Leonard and Paul George could have been healthy/available for 70 games apiece this season, then the Clippers would not find themselves sitting in 5th place in the West on a 38-35 record that pushes them just three games above 10th place Utah Jazz.
Instead, in my opinion, a healthy Leonard and George partnership would have secured the Clippers place within the Top-3 of the West (at the very least) as this team has the most talented rotation on paper.
Seriously, the Clippers have a former MVP winner starting at point guard in Russell Westbrook, a former NBA Finals MVP starting at SF in Kawhi Leonard, and a 6X All-NBA and 4X All-Defensive Team SG in Paul George all in their starting lineup, while the rest of the team is made up of very solid role players such as Marcus Morris Sr., Bones Hyland, Mason Plumlee, Terence Mann, Nichola Batum, Ivica Zubac, and Norman Powell.
On paper, this team should be at least 10 games ahead of the Phoenix Suns, Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors (who are one game behind them in 6th), and competing with the Denver Nuggets for the #1 seed in the Western Conference. But that’s not what’s happened…obviously.
Alas, with Kawhi Leonard having only played 44 of the Clippers 73 games thus far, and Paul George set to miss essentially the rest of the regular season sitting on 55 games played, the Clippers can only hope the rest of the West crumbles and tears each other apart to stay afloat in the Top-6.
I mean, the Clipper clearly can’t count on Kawhi Leonard to carry the load for their final nine games as he’s not even going to feature in 65% of Clipper games this year, and Russell Westbrook is a shell of his MVP self. Actually, that’s putting it lightly as he’s only averaging 13.2 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 7.3 APG, and 1.3 SPG in a Clippers uniform that was supposed to give him more creative freedom than what he experienced during his days as a Laker.
Hell, even when a combination of George, Leonard, and Westbrook were in the Clippers lineup, the team has not been firing on all cylinders as they’ve gone 5-5 in their last 10 games to fall behind the Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings for a Top-4 seeding.
To think that this Clippers team, even with its talented rotation, without George or Leonard in the lineup can compete against the likes of Memphis, Phoenix, and the Lakers would be downright crazy. I don’t know why this team has such a corrosive rot set in that debilitates it from winning whenever Leonard, George, or a both players don’t feature, but the rot is there.
And there has been nothing head coach Ty Lue, the new trade deadline additions of Mason Plumlee, Bones Hyland, etc., or owner Steve Ballmer have been able to do to destroy it.
Unfortunately, it seems like the Clippers are just doomed to suffer the same fate as to whatever befalls to their franchise superstars, which is quite sad for a team that once held high hopes it could supplant the LA Lakers and be Los Angeles go-to basketball team for a while.
Not only have the Clippers failed to make it out of the Conference Finals in every single season since 2019 (which was when Kawhi Leonard signed), but they have also had to sit back and watch the Lakers actually win (sadly) their 17th and record-tying NBA Championship in 2020. It really is sad in a hilariously ironic way when you think about it.
Perhaps George will be able to make a miraculously speedy recovery and help guide the Clippers to a Top-4 seed, but I highly doubt it when you see that he’s only played in 58% of the available 328 Clippers games since his arrival in LA in 2019.
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