The Los Angeles Clippers are the hottest team in the NBA. They’ve won six straight, and eight of their last 10 games. The vision of their big three is coming into focus and they are legitimate title contenders.
“I think since we were so far behind in a sense that we didn’t have a training camp or you look at teams like Boston, whose core has been together for a minute, Milwaukee, even the Lakers, you know what I mean?” James Harden said after a Clippers win against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday, Dec. 11.
“Just to name a few, whose core has been together for a few years. You know what I mean? See, they already have the advantage of chemistry being together, being in close games and postseasons and things like that. So I think the more amount of games that we can play alongside each other, it’s beneficial for us.”
Hottest Team In The League And Surging In Key Metrics
The Clippers are seventh in aNET rating, 14th in aORTG, and eighth in aDRTG.
Integrating Harden into a team with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook (the Hall of Fame Four) was always going to take time. That’s not because any of these players execute the wrong way, but because each has unique talents and gifts, and you need repetitions to see how they complement the whole and what head coach Ty Lue wants to see on the floor.
The Clippers run two styles. With Harden starting it’s much more methodical to take advantage of his elite surgical passing and pick and roll play with big man Ivica Zubac. That unit can still get a little sticky with Leonard and George’s isolation preference. But Lue is working in sets to get some off-ball movements and actions into quick shots.
The bench unit led by Westbrook can play with pace and take advantage of his still-elite ability at getting to the rim. He’s not finishing well, but is still getting the team out on the break.
Building Chemistry
This team, and specifically Leonard, has been the definition of the ire of NBA fans, mainly due to load management. But Leonard and George have been hurt over the past few seasons. Managing their bodies was essential as they were coming back from injuries.
“I mean, I talked about this before — coming off of the ACL was definitely — we were definitely monitoring my minutes and my workload to make sure that I stayed healthy,” Leonard said after Tuesday’s win over the Sacramento Kings.
So far this season, Leonard has played in all 24 games and George has played in 23 of 24 games. Health is the key for this group. The more minutes they play together and build chemistry, the better prepared they will be for the postseason.
This Clippers team is scary and can be elite at times, but they’ll need luck in the form of good health to win the first title in franchise history.
