Coming into the 2022-23 NBA season, one of the teams that many people thought would be competing for a championship when it was all said and done was the LA Clippers. They had arguably the deepest roster in the NBA, but they have yet to really play up to that potential this season.
The Clippers are currently 12-9, which puts them in fifth place in the Western Conference, but they have been far from a dominant squad. They have struggled at times against the upper-echelon teams in the league, already suffering losses to the Phoenix Suns, New Orleans Pelicans, Golden State Warriors and Denver Nuggets.
Eight of their 12 victories have come against teams with records under the .500 mark with three of them coming against the Houston Rockets and two of them against the Los Angeles Lakers. Without advantageous matchups such as those and a win over the lowly Detroit Pistons, there would be a lot more discussion about the team’s struggles.
Right now, the most important thing for the Clippers is figuring out a way to build chemistry and cohesion with a roster that has a ton of players that are constantly in and out of the lineup. One NBA scout that spoke to NBA Analysis Network pinpointed their inability to stay healthy as their major concern.
“The Clippers are like the ultimate ‘on-paper’ team right now in the NBA. I don’t mean that disrespectfully. They can’t seem to stay healthy. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George seem to be in and out of the lineup often, which makes it tough to fine-tune things on both ends before the playoffs. … They do have lots of depth. Ivica Zubac has been fantastic. But again, the lack of opportunities to get all of their key guys playing together hurts. … It’s hard to trust that they’ll stay healthy on a deep run right now.”
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If Los Angeles is going to truly contend this season, they will need Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to perform at a high level. There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding Leonard and his knee injury as he has appeared in only five games this season, already missing more than three weeks and 12 games in a row.
After appearing in three straight contests, Leonard has missed three more in a row and counting after rolling his ankle near the end of the game against the Utah Jazz. George is dealing with a hamstring injury that has kept him sidelined for four games already and will keep him out for at least two more.
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If they are unable to stay on the court, the Clippers can kiss their chances of contending for the Larry O’Brien trophy goodbye. There are some really solid players on the roster, but without their two superstars on the roster, the Clippers will struggle to keep up with the other top teams around the league.
