Why the Clippers are the team to beat in the Western Conference Play-In Tournament
A budding superstar and experience paired with an elite defense makers the Clippers a serious threat to come out of the play in tournament with the 7th seed
Advanced Statistics used in this article are from NBA.com and StatMuse.com
Paul George didn’t play in the Clippers’ 153-119 blowout win of the Antetoukounmpo and Holiday-less Bucks on Friday night, but it was still impressive. Those 153 points are the most points any Clippers team has put up in the history of the franchise and trade-deadline pickup Robert Covington (who wasn’t even the centerpiece of that trade) scored a team-high 43 points in that game.
Amir Coffey, one of the key pickups of the 2021-2022 NBA season for the Clippers, also scored 32 points and looked like the Amir Coffey of January, where he averaged 13.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game with an extraordinary eFG% of 61.2. Coffey is one of the poster boys of the opportunities given to players when COVID-19 was infesting the NBA and many players were in COVID protocols for two weeks.
Coffey was undrafted out of Minnesota and signed a two-way contract with the Clippers where he has spent most of his first three seasons in the NBA G League. With the opportunity given to Coffey this season, he has established himself as one of the best two-way players on the team with a knack for scoring. As I have mentioned in previous articles that I have written about the Clippers, they are filled with underdogs like Coffey who represents the teams’ gritty mentality.
Terrance Mann was a second-round pick doubted coming out of Florida State, Isaiah Hartenstein was another second-round pick sent to the NBA G League before making a name for himself in two seasons on the Houston Rockets, and Reggie Jackson was almost out of the NBA on the Pistons before the Clippers gave him a chance last season.
After a brilliant playoff run last season and consistent play this season (17.2 points per game), Jackson is one of the best players on the team and is a sparkplug full of energy that other players feed off of.
Something that stays in the Clippers players’ minds is that they can never be counted out regardless of who is injured and they are going to play full of heart and energy with lockdown defense every single game. Unlike their crosstown rivals, the Clippers play every game like it’s their last and they never give up.
Norman Powell and Kawhi Leonard may still be hurt, but this is a team that still has a chip on its shoulder. Before last year, the team had never reached a Western Conference Finals. Now, this team wants more, the Clippers’ first Finals appearance. Norman Powell may be back soon and recent reports suggest that Kawhi Leonard’s return to the lineup is “imminent” as well.
However, any Kawhi Leonard update or report comes with extreme skepticism considering how elusive and secretive Leonard and the Clippers have been regarding his injuries these past two seasons. Nonetheless, even without Leonard and Powell, this Clippers team is almost exactly the same team (minus Patrick Beverly and some other key players) that shocked the world and went to the Western Conference Finals last season.
Led by arguably the best coach in the NBA, Ty Lue, the Clippers have the 10th ranked defensive rating of 110 and an improving offensive rating of 108.8 (ranked 25th in the NBA). They also don’t turn the ball over much as they have the 13th best TOV% (Turnover Percentage) in the NBA at 13.9 percent.
Although the Clippers improved on the offensive end from their 28th overall offensive rating midseason, their defensive rating has regressed from 4th overall in January. However, falling from 4th to 10th in defensive rating is not as big of a deal as some people make it out to be. Injuries have plagued this team all season, and some players haven’t gotten into a rhythm right away.
Paul George is back and is still one of the five best two-way players in the league. He immediately improves the defense even further, not to mention he also scored 34 points and led the Clippers to a 26 point comeback win against the Jazz in his first game back in months last week.
George has since struggled as he has failed to score over 22 points and shoot over 40 percent in the two games he has played since. Some growing pains are expected as he eases back into playing shape and until the playoffs start, we shouldn’t get accustomed to seeing George playing as he did against the Jazz last week. If Kawhi Leonard returns, who is another one of the top five two-way players in the league, their defense will only get exponentially better throughout the postseason.
I interviewed my close friend, co-host of “The Baller Sports Dialogue Podcast”, and Clippers superfan Grant Mona about what he thinks about this team entering the Play-In Tournament on April 12th. “They have so much resilience, we haven’t seen this kind of resilience in ‘Lob City’ and didn’t get it back until the playoffs last year with Ty Lue. This year has been way different, they all buy into Ty Lue… This coaching staff has turned the way people think about this whole organization around.”
Grant is right, once an organization known for choking in the postseason despite having superstar players in the Doc Rivers era, is now a gritty and resilient team that even with its superstars, still has that underdog mentality. They are now known for coming back from large deficits and never giving up.
I then asked Grant about how he thinks the Clippers will fare in the playoffs, “Lots of skepticism in the Clips from past years, especially without Kawhi (Leonard) and Norm (Norman Powell), and even though I think we have a good chance to beat the Timberwolves, they’ll probably lose to Timberwolves and beat the Pelicans which is the most realistic option at this point. Minnesota is amazing and underrated, they rebound way better than us and have all of their guys healthy. They can put Vanderbilt on George, Towns can dominate the interior.”
Even though I disagree with Grant since I do believe that the Clippers will defeat the Timberwolves, I can see where he is coming from. The Timberwolves have consistently been a very good basketball team all season long both offensively and defensively.
As I mentioned in the last episode of “The Baller Sports Dialogue Podcast”, the Wolves have a top seven offensive rating and a top eleven defensive rating, both coupled with a top 12 team eFG% and TS%. If you have yet to listen to that you can find that episode on all listening platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Youtube.
Since the Clippers’ defensive rating has dropped significantly since January, I asked Grant if he is worried about that, “They’ll get better defensively, they had guys out. Robert Covington is an elite defender and that acquisition is so underrated. This lineup of Reggie (Jackson) Terance (Mann), Paul (George), Roco (Robert Covington), and Batum Batallion (Nicolas Batum) is a nightmare defensively since all five of those guys can guard guards and centers (besides maybe Jackson). They’ll utilize that in the Play-In Tournament and they didn’t even have Covington for a month after the trade. They also have amazing depth, which was shown in their 153-119 win over the Bucks”.
Grant also added that Amir Coffey has been the most underrated player on the team, citing the same qualities that I cited earlier, Coffey’s 32 point game, occasional scoring outbursts, and his good on-ball defense. When asked whether or not Powell or Leonard would return Grant immediately said “Powell will return first if he is going to. They will probably sit Kawhi (Leonard) the rest of the season unless they somehow beat Phoenix in the first round, then they will have Leonard come back in the second round if they see a championship opportunity.”
Whether or not Kawhi Leonard or Norman Powell return this year, one thing is evident and that is the Clippers are a hard-nosed defensive-minded team with one of the best two-way players in the league at the helm of their squad. No one will want to match up with the grit, resilience, and camaraderie of the Clippers in a 7-game series, including the Suns.
People forget that this same Clippers team (minus Patrick Beverly which is a huge loss) came two games away from the NBA Finals last season with no Kawhi Leonard. Because of their experience alone, the Clippers have to be favored to win the Play-In Tournament.
But most fans will keep doubting them even when the Clippers keep proving them wrong. I’ve learned to expect a tough fought four quarters every game from this team as they come back from 25+ down on occasion and win, never give up, and play like they have nothing to lose.
The Clippers are most equipped to not only win the Play-In Tournament but also thrive in a 7-game series against either Phoenix or Memphis, arguably the two toughest teams to beat in a 7-game series in the NBA. If any squad is ready for that test, it’s the Los Angeles Clippers I can tell you that with extreme confidence.