The Clippers have won nine in a row, but their opponents are weaker or due to the absence of some big men. The real test was against a full-fledged Nuggets team, when Jokic's shooting performance was incredible. The last three games against the Thunder and Celtics have been the biggest challenge. The Mavericks didn't play, but Cardier missed out due to injury and eventually won in thrilling fashion. The most challenging opponents in those 12 games are the Thunder and Celtics, as they are both space-based powerhouses. Victory over one of them would be more convincing. The two consecutive defeats were not unexpected, but the game was very ugly and the team seemed to have been completely defeated. This can't help but make people wonder if the real gold content of the previous nine consecutive wins is because of the tough offensive strategy against the weak team, while the strong team seems to be cringe
Will Leonard's return make up for the team's 30+ point difference in efficiency?Can he solve Zubac's dilemma of not being able to defend?Can he fix the holes that keep popping up when defending from the outside?Can he fix the problem of two players being let go in the rotation?Can he solve the problem of wrapping ball carriers and emptying role players?Can he fix Mann's slippery three-point shot?Can he solve the problem that the team has only four reliable three-point shooters, including himself?The real powerhouse exposed the real problem, and Leonard seemed to have been seen through in advance. Overall, the Clippers face only two problems: poor offense and shaky defense.
On the offensive end, they've created enough open chances, but with a drop in stamina leading to a drop in shooting percentage, it's a completely different matter. Fans don't have to argue anymore, the opponent's coach is clear, if Powell's hand feels down to 30%, will the other party dare to let him go?But the opposing coach ignored your Mann and Westbrook, and instead gave you George and Harden more offensive intensity. There is more than one way to solve this problem, one is to abandon the current space offensive method and slowly play every offensive link;The second is that whoever misses the shot will be rested, let the player who can shoot play, and then strengthen the competitiveness of the shooter.
In terms of defensive system, the team has not yet established an effective system, this is not a problem of individual ability, it has little to do with the appearance of vacancies and individual defense, the main thing is that the defensive discipline is not strict enough, and there are also problems with the defensive selection of Harden and Westbrook. With Leonard back, the problem persists, and you can look back at the second half against the Mavericks, where we should have lost that game, and winning doesn't mean all the problems don't exist. Especially against a space team, the problem is even more obvious, don't be embarrassed for Zubac, there are some situations he can't handle. It's not just the scoring that matters, the defensive formation is also crucial.
At the moment, Theis and Korblon seem to lack that ability, and Tucker hasn't shown the quality he should be on the defensive end, which is a bit disappointing. We hope to avoid that kind of space-focused team in the future. In my opinion, even if Leonard joins, it will be very difficult to win four games in a series of games against Green Kai and Thunder with just the current group of players and rotation. There's still a lot of work to be done for the Clippers to win the championship.