LA Clippers Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
The LA Clippers are an enigma of a team, a group with all of the indicators of a title contender and yet none of the public support. At 43-21 the Clippers have the third-most wins in the league and the fourth-best winning percentage, yet are dismissed as a true threat as their flaws are pulled at like loose threads.
The Clippers fell apart in a grandiose way in the playoffs last season, allowing the Denver Nuggets to come back from a 3-1 deficit and rob the NBA world of seeing the crosstown Los Angeles showdown between the Clippers and the Lakers. That loss is held up not as history but as prediction, proof that the future will play out similarly. Never mind that the West-leading Utah Jazz gave up a similar 3-1 comeback to the Nuggets in the same postseason.
This week they played a game in Phoenix against the team above them in the standings, losing a close game 109-101 without three starters, including their best player in Kawhi Leonard. Suns guard Chris Paul received MVP chants as national media focuses on the Suns’ surprising leap up the standings and whether the Clippers deserve to be in the same tier as the Suns.
That’s the highlight that distracts from the fact the Clippers won 17 of 20 before dropping their most recent two games, most of those games being played without a full complement of starters. Despite frequent injuries and a long-game vision of load management, this team has continued to roll along in a competitive Western Conference.
The LA Clippers are true title contenders
The Clippers have all the signs of being legitimate title contenders. They have a strong statistical resume, with the league’s second-best net rating. They have playoff experience up-and-down the roster, including 444 career postseason games among their expected starting lineup. They have a top-5 player in Kawhi Leonard and a top-15 player in Paul George.
The bracket is also breaking for them in the Western Conference. The Los Angeles Lakers are currently on the opposite side from the Clippers, needing to win two series on the road just to face the Clippers. The Suns, the Clippers’ presumed second-round opponents, have just 181 career playoff games in their starting lineup and just 274 on their entire roster.
There are a number of seasons this is a stronger Clippers team than last season that not only can challenge for the NBA title but should be the favorite to win it. Here are three specific reasons the LA Clippers will redeem the ghost of last year and win the 2020-21 NBA title.
LA Clippers</a> are an enigma of a team, a group with all of the indicators of a title contender and yet none of the public support. At 43-21 the Clippers have the third-most wins in the league and the fourth-best winning percentage, yet are dismissed as a true threat as their flaws are pulled at like loose threads.</p>
<p>The Clippers fell apart in a grandiose way in the playoffs last season, allowing the Denver Nuggets to come back from a 3-1 deficit and rob the NBA world of seeing the crosstown Los Angeles showdown between the Clippers and the Lakers. That loss is held up not as history but as prediction, proof that the future will play out similarly. Never mind that the West-leading Utah Jazz gave up a similar 3-1 comeback to the Nuggets in the same postseason.</p>
<p>This week they played a game in Phoenix against the team <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/29/la-clippers-3-reasons-nba-title/"https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/27/nba-playoffs-predicting-west-standings/">above them in the standings</a>, losing a close game 109-101 without three starters, including their best player in <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/29/la-clippers-3-reasons-nba-title/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/leonaka01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" ref="nofollow">Kawhi Leonard</a>. Suns guard Chris Paul received MVP chants as national media focuses on the Suns’ surprising leap up the standings and whether the Clippers deserve to be in the same tier as the Suns.</p>
<p>That’s the highlight that distracts from the fact the Clippers won 17 of 20 before dropping their most recent two games, most of those games being played without a full complement of starters. Despite frequent injuries and a long-game vision of load management, this team has continued to roll along in a competitive Western Conference.</p>
<h2>The LA Clippers are true title contenders</h2>
<p>The Clippers have all the signs of being legitimate title contenders. They have a strong statistical resume, with the league’s second-best net rating. They have playoff experience up-and-down the roster, including 444 career postseason games among their expected starting lineup. They have a top-5 player in Kawhi Leonard and a top-15 player in <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/29/la-clippers-3-reasons-nba-title/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/georgpa01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" ref="nofollow">Paul George</a>.</p>
<p>The bracket is also breaking for them in the Western Conference. The Los Angeles Lakers are currently on the opposite side from the Clippers, needing to win two series on the road just to face the Clippers. The Suns, the Clippers’ presumed second-round opponents, have just 181 career playoff games in their starting lineup and just 274 on their entire roster.</p>
<p>There are a number of seasons this is a stronger Clippers team than last season that not only can challenge for the NBA title but should be the favorite to win it. Here are three specific reasons the LA Clippers will redeem the ghost of last year and win the 2020-21 NBA title.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/29/la-clippers-3-reasons-nba-title/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 3 </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_394085" class="wp-caption aligncenter">
<img class="size-full wp-image-394085" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/29/la-clippers-3-reasons-nba-title/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1267,w_1600/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1194615667.jpeg" alt="LA Clippers: Paul George, Kawhi Leonard" width="1600" height="1267" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1194615667.jpeg 1600w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1194615667-768x608.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">LA Clippers (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)</p>
</div>
</div>
<h2>3. The LA Clippers have the best pair of two-way wings out there</h2>
<p>Once upon a time, the NBA was ruled by centers. In a sport where the goal is to drop a ball through a ring suspended ten feet off the ground, being as naturally close to that rim as possible was important. The towering behemoths of yesteryear stand tribute to the need for a dominant center to win titles through the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s.</p>
<p>Michael Jordan began to change that, ruling the league as a guard with his number two also a wing. That change accelerated from there, as LeBron James and Stephen Curry led teams without that difference-making big man, instead shifting small with atypical centers in Chris Bosh and Draymond Green.</p>
<div class="related-categoryright"><div class="related-main-title">More from <span class="related-name">LA Clippers</span></div><ul><li>
<a class="related-link" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/29/la-clippers-3-reasons-nba-title/"https://hoopshabit.com/2022/07/21/nba-trades-sacramento-kings-dillon-brooks/" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="related-category-shortcode">NBA Trades: 3-team trade would land Dillon Brooks on Sacramento Kings</a>
</li><li>
<a class="related-link" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/29/la-clippers-3-reasons-nba-title/"https://hoopshabit.com/2022/07/01/nba-trades-kyrie-irving-la-clippers/" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="related-category-shortcode">NBA Trades: 3-team trade lands Kyrie Irving on LA Clippers</a>
</li><li>
<a class="related-link" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/29/la-clippers-3-reasons-nba-title/"https://hoopshabit.com/2022/06/03/moves-la-clippers-offseason/" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="related-category-shortcode">5 roster moves the LA Clippers need to make this offseason</a>
</li><li>
<a class="related-link" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/29/la-clippers-3-reasons-nba-title/"https://hoopshabit.com/2022/05/06/la-clippers-finally-primed/" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="related-category-shortcode">The LA Clippers are (finally) primed for championship contention</a>
</li><li>
<a class="related-link" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/29/la-clippers-3-reasons-nba-title/"https://hoopshabit.com/2022/03/04/reggie-jackson-los-angeles-lakers/" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="related-category-shortcode">Reggie Jackson may have just ended the Los Angeles Lakers season</a>
</li></ul></div>
<p>The value of the 3-point arc and the size and speed of NBA stars means that two-way wings, able to compete with players like LeBron James, become a necessity. Teams without such a wing are going to struggle to win a title in the modern NBA. The Clippers are able to step right through that door with no one, but two elite wings who fit the modern blueprint for contention.</p>
<p>The Los Angeles Lakers have James, the Brooklyn Nets have Kevin Durant, but no team has two such players like the Clippers. Kawhi Leonard is a machine, historically one of the best wing defenders while doubling as one of its best isolation scorers. His mid-range jumper is inevitable, and he has already proven his game only elevates in the postseason.</p>
<p>Paul George has similar defensive chops, with the speed and elusiveness to stick with smaller guards in a complement to Leonard. Offensively he has become a high-volume sharpshooter from outside, which only further unlocks pathways for him to slither to the rim.</p>
<p>Leonard and George afford the Clippers maximum flexibility for roster construction. They can slide George and Leonard up the roster into a super-sized backcourt, or down into a floor-spacing frontcourt pairing. Their two-way impact allows the Clippers to add different pieces around them without the burden of finding perfect fits.</p>
<p>The presence of two-way wing players is a must in today’s NBA, and the Clippers bring more to the table than anyone else in this regard. Leonard and George give them the baseline they need to win a title.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/29/la-clippers-3-reasons-nba-title/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 2 </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><p><img class="size-full wp-image-427418" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/29/la-clippers-3-reasons-nba-title/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_560,w_850/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1302195655.jpeg" alt="<a rel=" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1302195655.jpeg 1600w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1302195655-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"></p>
<h2>2. The LA Clippers have better options at center this year</h2>
<p>Last season the LA Clippers were absolutely roasted inside during the postseason, in part by Dallas Mavericks big man Kristaps Porzingis but then infamously and painfully by All-NBA center Nikola Jokic. With the undersized Montrezl Harrell going through physical and emotional turmoil just prior to the playoffs, their only reliable option at the 5 was Ivica Zubac, a strong inside presence but without much versatility.</p>
<p>This season their center portfolio is completely different. Harrell is across town playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Clippers went shopping this offseason. They brought in Serge Ibaka, who brings floor spacing and rim protection to the role, both of which Harrell lacked even at his best. Starting Ibaka doesn’t compromise spacing or defense.</p>
<div class="recent-posts">
<h4>More from <b>Hoops Habit</b></h4>
<ul><li>
<a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/29/la-clippers-3-reasons-nba-title/"https://hoopshabit.com/2022/08/25/orlando-magic-starting-guards-22/">Orlando Magic: Who deserves to start in the backcourt this season?
</a></li><li>
<a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/29/la-clippers-3-reasons-nba-title/"https://hoopshabit.com/2022/08/25/3-bold-predictions-brooklyn-nets/">3 bold predictions for the Brooklyn Nets next season
</a></li><li>
<a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/29/la-clippers-3-reasons-nba-title/"https://hoopshabit.com/2022/08/24/kevin-durant-nets-saga-no-big-deal/">Kevin Durant’s trade saga is no big deal for the Nets, and history proves it
</a></li><li>
<a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/29/la-clippers-3-reasons-nba-title/"https://hoopshabit.com/2022/08/24/san-antonio-spurs-mount-rushmore/">Selecting the San Antonio Spurs’ Mount Rushmore
</a></li><li>
<a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/29/la-clippers-3-reasons-nba-title/"https://hoopshabit.com/2022/08/24/tre-jones-vs-joshua-primo-will-start-point-guard-spurs/">Tre Jones vs. Joshua Primo: Who will start at point guard for the Spurs?
</a></li></ul>
</div>
<p>Zubac is still in the fold, developing into one of the league’s best rim protectors and screeners. His role on offense is low-usage and high-impact, unlocking the team’s shooters through screens and rolls to the basket. His offensive rating of 134 points per 100 possessions is by far the best on the team (minimum 100 minutes played). Against opposing centers not named Nikola Jokic he is a strong option.</p>
<p>The Clippers have even gone a step further recently, adding DeMarcus Cousins as a third center option with more offensive versatility. The former All-NBA big man has lost a step after multiple injuries, but he brings a dimension of passing and skill that Ibaka and Zubac don’t. Deployed in the right matchups he can be a precision weapon or insurance in case of injury to the top two options.</p>
<p>Last year, center was an unexpected position of postseason disaster for the Clippers, but this year they are deeper, more versatile and more modern. They can deploy a talented center in any matchup, including going small with Marcus Morris at the 5 at times. That turns last year’s weakness into this year’s strength.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/29/la-clippers-3-reasons-nba-title/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> No. 1 </a>
</div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_427417" class="wp-caption aligncenter">
<img class="size-full wp-image-427417" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/29/la-clippers-3-reasons-nba-title/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2134,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1299368167.jpeg" alt="" width="3200" height="2134" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1299368167.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1299368167-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">LA Clippers Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images</p>
</div>
</div>
<h2>1. The LA Clippers are the best 3-point shooting team in the league</h2>
<p>As a team, the LA Clippers are shooting 34.5 3-pointers per game. That number alone would seem ludicrous to a team playing just 10 years ago, but it’s simply an indicator of the direction the league is moving in, as it ranks only 15th this season. A decade ago the Orlando Magic lead the league with 25.6 attempts per game, and the Clippers’ 34.5 mark would have ranked first as recently as 2016.</p>
<p>What is unique about the Clippers is not just their volume, but their accuracy. The Clippers are hitting 41.6 percent of their 3-pointers, which is by far the highest mark in the league. They are as far ahead of the second-place Milwaukee Bucks as the Bucks are ahead of the 15th-place Chicago Bulls.</p>
<p>Their number is so strong, in fact, that it is on pace to rank second all-time in team 3-point percentage for a season, just ahead of the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors. The only team to shoot better for a season was the 1996-97 Charlotte Hornets, who his 42.8 percent of their 16.9 attempts per game with a shortened line. The Clippers are hitting their mark on more than twice the attempts, and alone of the two aforementioned teams, doing so without a member of the Curry family on the roster.</p>
<p>Paul George is having an elite shooting season, hitting 42.2 percent of his 7.6 attempts per game. Marcus Morris is taking 5.4 attempts per game himself, shooting a whopping 47.1 from behind the arc. Among players with at least 100 minutes with the team, the Clippers have seven players shooting at least five 3-pointers per-36 and hitting over 40 percent of them. Kawhi Leonard misses the list but shoots 39.3 on his attempts.</p>
<p>The Clippers are having one of the best shooting seasons in NBA history, and that accuracy and volume is spread across the roster. Opponents cannot take away one elite shooter, because nearly every rotation player on the team is comfortable letting it fly and used to the shot going in. There are no weak spots, no players to leave open from outside.</p>
<p>Last season the Clippers fell well short of their goal, but that doesn’t have to define this year. Plenty of teams fell short one season just to win the next year, especially when star players come together for the first time. This team has a new head coach, a bolstered bench and a more versatile collection of centers. With the 3-point shooting and two-way wings a team needs to win in the modern NBA, the LA Clippers will win the title this season.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="NBA: Ranking every team’s best player in 2020-21" data-url="https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/24/nba-ranking-every-teams-best-player/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/04/29/la-clippers-3-reasons-nba-title/"https://hoopshabit.com/2020/12/24/nba-ranking-every-teams-best-player/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> NBA: Ranking every team’s best player in 2020-21 </a> </div>
</div>
<p> </p>
<p> </p><!—pageview_candidate—>">