Dribble, 6.2/Video editing: Ziv Steiner
Until recently, it seemed that the Clippers were on their way to another lost season.
After just four games, the City of Angels secondary chose to make a rather questionable trade, sending Nicolas Batum, Robert Covington, Marcus Morris, a first-round pick and two second-round picks for a disgruntled James Harden.
The commentators killed the move: in the United States there was a consensus according to which it was a bad deal, all the more because of Harden's conduct with Philadelphia.
Indeed, the start was bad: the Clippers lost all of their first five games after the trade, and at the end of the first ten cycles of the 2023/24 season, they found themselves with a dismal record of 7:3, in 12th place in the West, and with very few reasons for optimism.
It was on November 15th.
Tonight (between Tuesday and Wednesday), due to the losses of Oklahoma City and Minnesota, Harden and his friends rose to first place in the West, with a record of 15:34, after nine wins in the last ten games.
Now, we have no choice but to admit: this is one of the best teams in the league, and one of the biggest candidates to go all the way.
But the trade for Harden is only part of the matter.
twitter twitter
The improvement was gradual.
Russell Westbrook went to the bench, Terrence Mann entered the five, Daniel Theis joined, PJ Tucker who came together with Harden lost his place in the rotation, and slowly, Harden, Paul George (22.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game) ) and Kawhi Leonard how to play with each other.
But with all due respect to the first pair of stars in this sentence, the third is the one responsible for the biggest change.
In his last 30 games, Leonard is averaging 26.7 points in almost unimaginable percentages: 55 percent from the field, 50.6 percent from beyond the arc and 92.2 percent from the free throw line.
No player in the history of the league has ever recorded such numbers in a 30-game period, and needless to say, the superior ability translates into wins - the Clippers are 5:25 in those 30 games, with the best offense in the league.
The 32-year-old Kawhi - not exactly a symbol of health and durability (the last time he played over 70 games was in 2016/17) - looks better than ever, and just as importantly, more available than ever: he has participated in 44 of the 48 games this season, and is climbing Slowly also in the list of candidates for the title of MVP.
He is currently ranked fifth in the bookies, behind Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shay Gilges Alexander and Nikola Jokic, but if this ability continues, and the Clippers finish at the top of the Western Conference, it is hard to see how Leonard does not win the title for the first time in his career.
twittertwittertwitter
The one who has already won the title of MVP in the past is Harden, who, although he is recording his lowest averages since he was a sixth player in Oklahoma City - 17.3 points, 5 rebounds, 8.6 assists per game - but for the first time in his career he is shooting over 40 percent from beyond the arc (41.8) , loses only 2.5 balls on average (the fewest since 2011/12), and above all - knows his place in the puzzle.
"I'm not interested in being the king of baskets or the king of assists or being selected as an All-Star or MVP," he said last week.
"I did all this. I'm here for one reason - and everyone knows what it is. Everything depends on us. We can be very, very good. The most important thing is the chemistry."
Leonard and George will be in the upcoming All-Star game, while Harden was not selected - but according to Tyronn Lue, it all starts with him: "None of this would have happened without James. He is huge for us. We got a natural point guard who can also score. He has a huge part Where we are today, he's also an All-Star for us. He makes it very easy for Kawhi and Paul - they don't have to create every single move for themselves or the rest of the team. He's great. He makes everyone happy. He makes my job easier."
Will the Clippers make a deal one way or another before the trade window closes tomorrow?
still not clear.
PJ Tucker has already publicly admitted that he wants to leave to get playing minutes for another team (Miami and Milwaukee have been mentioned), Bones Hillens is also not happy with his position in the rotation, but it seems that if any trade is completed, it will be on the fringes only.
Either way, the consensus we talked about earlier has turned 180 degrees.
Last week, all the major websites in the United States placed Harden, Leonard and their friends in first place in the power rankings, and the betting agencies also aligned: the Clippers are now ranked fourth (after Milwaukee, Denver and Boston) to win their first championship in their history, after opening the season in ninth place.
Time will tell how all of this will translate to the playoffs - Harden is known as quite a loser in the postseason, and the Clippers have also recorded one defeat after another over the years, but this time there is a different feeling.
According to Lou, "Our biggest advantage will come in the playoffs. There are experienced guys here, who have gone through everything that can be done in the playoffs. That's the advantage of being an older and experienced team."
Paul George concluded: "We don't rely on just one player. We're an unselfish bunch here, and we all just want to win. At this point in our careers, winning is the only thing that matters to us. Nobody's trying to get numbers, everybody's playing on the road The right one, and that's the beauty. All four of us (George, Leonard, Harden, Westbrook) are exactly where we're supposed to be, at the perfect points in our careers."
More on the same topic:
Los Angeles Clippers
NBA
Kawhi Leonard
James Harden