In the last few NBA seasons, the LA Clippers have been among the teams considered legitimate contenders to take home the Larry O’Brien Trophy. They have had deep, talented rosters, but have continually fallen short of expectations.
A big reason for that has been an inability to stay healthy. From their stars down to the end of the bench, the Clippers cannot stay on the court. That leads to a bumpy road during the regular season as head coach Tyronn Lue has to continually shake up the lineup and rotation.
Without chemistry and cohesion, the Clippers’ chances of becoming champions are derailed as they are beaten by teams on the margins when it counts. Players are out of rhythm with roles constantly changing, which makes things difficult.
That led to Lue offering a stern message to the players on his team, namely his stars. In a recent appearance on All The Smoke podcast on Showtime Basketball, Lue revealed that he put Kawhi Leonard and Paul George on notice about taking the regular season more seriously.
Lue makes a lot of good points in the clip that is shared. Load management and sitting out games have become very popular in the NBA, so much so that Commissioner Adam Silver has attempted to implement rules that will curb it.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Kawhi Leonard, Paul George & Los Angeles Clippers Updates
Leonard was patient zero when it comes to load management from his time with the San Antonio Spurs. Lue is certainly correct when he says that his stars need to take the regular season more seriously as there are major consequences if you don’t.
The Clippers were routinely losing games that they had no business dropping during the regular season. That led to a brutal spot in the playoffs, as they didn’t have homecourt advantage as the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference.
That is something that Lue touched on as well, as seeding matters and the only way to improve it is to perform in the regular season. Taking the regular season seriously worked for the Denver Nuggets, who earned the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and defeated a No. 8, No. 4, No. 7 and No. 8 seeded team en route to an NBA Championship.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Kawhi Leonard, Paul George & Los Angeles Clippers Updates
If the Clippers want to reach the level which the Nuggets did, their mindset needs to change. Injuries are something that is out of their control, but coming ready to play on a more consistent basis during the marathon NBA regular season will help them in their quest to win a title.
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