The Los Angeles Clippers have been playing well to start the 2019-20 NBA season, especially considering they’ve already faced a few challenges. First, one of their stars in Paul George was out due to shoulder surgery for the first 11 games of the season. And second, their other star in Kawhi Leonard has already been sidelined a total of five games for load management.
To top it all off, since the two stars made their season debut together against the Boston Celtics they have yet to practice together. Despite all of those challenges, the Clippers have still managed to post a 15-6 record and they’re currently third in the Western Conference.
Per Farbod Esnaashari of Forbes, George commented on how special the Clippers offense could be once he and Leonard practice together.
“We could be really special. That’s the thing, we haven’t practiced. We’re still clicking, and are finding ways to score,” George said.
Clippers’ Outlook Moving Forward
Getty ImagesKawhi Leonard #2 and Paul George #13 of the Los Angeles Clippers
Leonard, who was a free agent this offseason, signed with the Clippers after they had acquired George via trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Once the team added these two elite players, they immediately became one of the favorites to win the title.
George is a six-time NBA All-Star while Leonard is the reigning Finals MVP. As soon as the duo took the court together the upside was apparent. In their first four games, they went undefeated with wins over the Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets, New Orleans Pelicans and Dallas Mavericks.
They took their first loss together against the San Antonio Spurs who managed to hold George in check. The newest star duo in Los Angeles is now 5-1 together as they beat the Washington Wizards on Sunday 150-125. Leonard led the team with 34 points, three assists and six boards. George also put up big numbers and tallied 31 points, one assist and eight rebounds.
It’s hard to believe that the two have not practiced with one another yet as they click and feed off each other well during games. Per Esnaashari, since PG made his season debut, the team hasn’t had more than one day off between games and head coach Doc Rivers is a firm believer in rest.
“In my years of coaching, I’ve never gone into Game 21, where my best two players have never had a practice together. That’s us right now,” Rivers said.
Despite the Clippers not being able to practice with one another, the team currently ranks number five in offense (115.2 PPG), and are in the top 10 in defense (104 DEF RTG). Clippers’ center Ivica Zubac commented on what the Clips could work on, as Forbes detailed.
“We have our set plays, and we’re running them. It’s not as good as they would be if we had practice. We can work on our execution in practice,” Zubac said.
The Clippers will finally have more than one day off between games after they play the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday. After that, the team will have Wednesday and Thursday off before they face the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday. The last time the Clippers played the Bucks both George and Leonard were out, yet they lost by only five.
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Paul George Talks Clippers’ Upside With Kawhi Leonard Moving Forward