The Los Angeles Clippers have undoubtedly improved their roster this season. They have made the perfect moves to improve on the problems they had. It has been practically an ideal offseason.
They have added youth, rebounding, and physicality with the addition of John Collins; a quality backup center who is an excellent rim defender and can space the floor in Brook Lopez; and a quality scorer with the ability to create shots and make plays in Beal. Finally, they incorporate nostalgia, veteran leadership, the symbol of the Clippers, and an excellent playmaker all in one with Chris Paul.
But are these changes enough to make the Clippers real contenders, or will they remain pretenders when the playoffs arrive?
Instability at the Helm
The reality, as much as it pains to admit, is that the superstars on the Clippers are quite unstable. Kawhi Leonard is a phenomenal player — probably still among the top 10 when he’s healthy. The problem is that Kawhi is always an unknown quantity. Even if he finishes the season healthy, or looks like he’ll be healthy for the playoffs, there’s always the question of whether he will be. Without Kawhi, the Clippers lose a lot of potential.
Kawhi isn’t the only problem. There’s also James Harden’s playoff drop-off. Although he was more consistent this past postseason, with Harden, you can never be sure. One playoff game he’ll score 30 points, and the next he’ll score 12, going 4-16.
But the tribulations of Kawhi and Harden aren’t even the Clippers’ biggest problems.
An Unbalanced Ship in Attack and Defense
The Clippers’ roster can best be described as an “unbalanced ship”. LA’s current roster is loaded with players who are either very strong on offense or very strong on defense — not both. Kawhi Leonard, Ivica Zubac, and Nicolas Batum are the most balanced in this regard.
On the defensive side, Derrick Jones Jr. and Kris Dunn are elite stoppers, but their lack of shooting and consistency limits the Clippers’ spacing at the playoff level, especially with Dunn. We saw it last playoffs: Dunn and DJJ could defend, but on offense, their defenders floated around them.
On the opposite side, stars like James Harden, Bradley Beal, and John Collins bring offensive firepower, but they lack defensive reliability. Harden’s quick hands are a useful tool, but his lack of effort often causes issues. In the playoffs, the three of them will be hunted down and targeted by the opposing offense.
This imbalance is what makes the Clippers so volatile. In the regular season, they can win plenty of games because they can mix and match lineups and rival teams will not continually adjust to these changes. But in the playoffs, when teams adjust their tactics and work harder to exploit their opponents’ weaknesses, having players who can only contribute on one side of the ball becomes a major liability.
Unless Dunn or DJJ become more consistent from the three-point line, or Beal or Collins pick up their intensity now that they’re on a defensive-minded, title-focused team, it’s hard to see this team going very far in the playoffs.
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