The Los Angeles Clippers enter the upcoming All-Star break as one of the hottest teams in the association, posting a record of 17-5 since the calendar turned to the new year. And while the Clippers will have two representatives—Kawhi Leonard and Paul George—putting on a show for the fans in Indiana, the team’s overall focus surely remains on maintaining as much momentum as they can when they resume play on February 22 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Clippers, as currently constructed, are in a position to accomplish something truly special this year. Perhaps more so than any other year in the Kawhi Leonard-Paul George era, these Clippers are poised to truly compete for an NBA Championship. With no legitimate juggernaut currently in the West—as the Warriors often were in years past—and with the recent acquisition of James Harden, the path toward contention is perhaps as clear as ever. Nearly no other team—in the West or not—can match up with the Clippers, when you take into consideration the sheer talent boasted by the trio of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and James Harden, as well as the nearly unparalleled amount of depth and shooting behind them.
Further evidence of the confidence the Clippers have in their current roster came last Thursday, at the NBA trade deadline, when the organization chose to largely stand pat. The Clippers looked around the marketplace, assessed what was available, and essentially decided to do nothing, à la if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Now, of course time will tell if the Clippers made the right decision or not, but it’s hard to fault the GM of the Clippers, Trent Redden, for feeling good about where they currently stand—3rd place in the West, as of this writing.
Additionally, if the Clippers eventually do come to the conclusion that they do still need to make a tweak or two down the stretch, they still have an opportunity to do so through the buyout market. But as things currently stand, it seems fairly clear the Clippers are more than happy with the makeup of their current roster. And honestly why shouldn’t they be? They have a Championship head coach in Ty Lue, they have a former Finals MVP in Kawhi Leonard, and they have two former MVPs in James Harden and Russell Westbrook—and that’s before even mentioning perennial All-Star Paul George. Injuries will always be a warranted concern with this roster, but much of that is out of the Clippers control. As long as they stick to the course, and perhaps even get a little bit of luck in the injury department, the sky’s the limit for these Clippers.
An experienced, immensely talented, and fully healthy Clippers squad is a team that no one—bar none—wants to face once the playoffs roll around. And if everything breaks right for the Clippers this year, it’s not hard to picture them representing the Western Conference in the NBA Finals a few months from now. And even looking beyond just this year, the future looks bright for Clippers fans, as Kawhi Leonard has recently signed an extension, Paul George is expected to do so soon as well, and next year the franchise is expected to debut a shiny new stadium—the Intuit Dome—to call their own. For a franchise that has for so long seemed cursed and doomed to play second-fiddle to their crosstown rival Lakers, these have to be exciting and promising times for the fanbase.
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