An analysis of the Los Angeles Clippers' recent turnaround after a shaky start, focusing on their improved defense, the impact of key players like Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, and the challenges they face in the competitive Western Conference, particularly in the playoffs.
Now, I wanna start the show talking about the Clippers , uh, because if you go back to mid-December, you probably would have thought that the Clippers were dead in the water.Since that day when they lost their fifth straight to Oklahoma City.
They have the fifth-best defense in the NBA during that stretch.Uh, great net rating, great numbers all across the board.Um, the Clippers right now, they're clinging to that number 10 spot in the Western Conference, but there's some room for them to maneuver if they can keep playing like this.And do you think this is kind of what they can be for the rest of the season? Yeah, I kind of vaguely remember that conversation we had when they, uh, started the season off not too well. And I remember being like, I think we both agree, like even though this isn't the most ideal situation, when the Clippers get rolling or if they get going or even get good enough to get into the 10th seed, they're still a dangerous team if the remnants of what we said of Kawhi shows up because Kawhi was a big question mark at the time, and James Harden was balling at the time.It's definitely has been giving them experiences. You look at the, the, the Sanders kid, the rookie, even the game in Toronto, how well he played and stepped up and put some great minutes in without, you know, Kawhi being there. Even when you look at Cam Christie, who's been doing his thing, guys have come back, accept their role, but they've been playing desperate. Yeah, they have to play damn near perfect basketball and uh for people that want a postseason, you comprehend what that takes and I think they've all been around each other. You know, stepping up and, and, and doing what's best, but anytime you have Kawhi Leonard locked in and even 80% of what we know.And James Harden is still at a high, high, high elite level. So that two-headed monster is, is, is enough aside from just a Ty Lue coaching when your offense as well, is starting to finally click.Nick Batum over the last month is shooting 42% from 3.Like they've needed some floor spacing all season long.Uh, the defense, this is what the defense should look like. Like when they were a bottom 3rd defensive team in the first couple of months of the season, you kind of looked at them and like, huh?Kawhi, still an all-world defender.That they went from the 3rd-best defensive team in the NBA last season to one of the worst in the NBA in this season.Maybe the Chris Paul stuff and all that was going on there had something to do with it, you know, just, just, you know, the the fallout from the Balmer stuff, maybe that had something to do with it.it, but I think the way the Clippers are defending right now is how they're capable of defending for the rest of the season.Uh, Kawhi's health is obviously paramount.Uh, that's incredibly important for this team.So, like, we know Harden's a great regular season player, right?And I've, I've attributed that, Evan, to The kind of workload that Harden has taken on during the regular season. And if you look at the numbers this season, he's actually playing more minutes this year for the Clippers than he played any year with the Clippers.He's up around 35, 36 minutes per game. Maybe he can do it for the rest of the regular season, but when you get to the playoffs, like, where is that gas tank?wondering like, is, is it gonna go to empty really fast because the Clippers, look, I, I don't think they're getting one of the top 6 spots in the West, which means like they're gonna have to get through the play-in. And when they get through the play, you're looking at Oklahoma City, at Denver, at San Antonio, maybe Houston goes on a run.Damn, the West is that good, eh.One thing with James Harden, we're 37 now.I, I think We don't harp on it, but we understand what a game 7 James is.So I don't even want to make it as an age thing cause it's like, shoot, in these moments, respectfully, James, you're on a, I wish I could hoop like you.I think there are certain games in the playoffs where it'd be like, man, you left with 12 points out of all, you know what I mean. So I don't, I don't, I don't look for him to do that on top of the fact that like when you're playing in the playoffs, the game is way different.So if you're struggling to, you know, score efficient in the regular season, they weren't ready for you, of course, in that, in the playoffs is going to be naturally tough.I just think we, that your cheat code is shoot.If it, if it's getting close, uh just make sure he's healthy, make sure he's mentally right, and make sure he, he's in mid-season form because you and I know as well, it's like, man, it's like, I just, if Kawhi's out there, and Kawhi is going. He, he's, he's damn near a step below prime LeBron in the sense of like his presence means maybe 4 or 5 times more than normal, especially in clutch situations.No, you're not wrong, but it's not enough to me to beat one of those top tier teams.We're in the east.I see why they're in the 10C.Like damn, like, bro, you said, you said OKC Houston, San San Antonio, Denver, Denver, like bro, that's a joke like um.I guess this is that type of conversation because it's, it's going to be very tough and I think coaching is going to have to step up and that veteran leadership is going to have to step up and really take out, you know, some of these young guys.I just I, I just put a lot of it on Harden.He's got to be a bucket in the playoffs for them to have any chance of beating one of those top teams.Oh shit, I'm gonna take my little money and just put it back in my pocket .Yeah, I, I, I just think it's, it's like I'm looking at the minutes that Harden's logging right now and I don't know, I think the numbers in January are even higher.Like he's, this has been a problem, you know, where in Houston, it was a problem.It, it bleeds into the playoffs and the game is so much more physical in the playoffs and defense is so much tougher in the playoffs.You got a team that's gonna throw Lou Dort at you, Alex Caruso at you, Cason Wallace at you, or if it's somebody like Houston, Ahmed Thompson at you. Like there's just so many, so many great wing defenders on those top teams in the Western Conference.But I gotta find a way to get Harden's minutes down.I get that and they've had to do this to get him to this level, but if he's averaging 36 minutes per game in, going into the playoffs.Yeah, we don't even bring up the first month of the season where like he was going out of body to even try to keep them somewhat close.Like he, before Kawhi came back, he was still having great games and overly exerted energy. We're like, damn, James looks like the fountain of youth, but like, do you want him to be hooping as hard at 36?You're absolutely right about uh James has to be a Uh, valid second option, and I mean like valid, like these dudes have to be explosive together like, and, and just to point out some of the numbers like he's scoring over this last month, right, where we were talking about the way the Clippers have been on the surge.That's MVP kind of numbers.Game, but in the last month he's shooting 39% from the floor and 29% from three. So the efficiency numbers are way down, and he's averaging about 36 minutes per game, averaging more minutes than Leonard during that, that stretch.They've got to get his minutes down because a gas James Harden is not gonna be effective. Uh, yeah, and also too, the Clippers as well, they have to get back to a couple of years ago when they were the best three-point shooting team in the league, like, you know what I mean, like. There's a lot this offense is missing 100%, but, uh, I, I think, uh, if anybody can get her done, they got time to do so.I don't even wanna, you know, yeah, it's rugged, no question.
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