The Los Angeles Clippers have been in the spotlight during the NBA's season of rising Eastern and Western giants. However, despite their Big Four roster, they have struggled to excel in the regular season and playoffs. Injuries, internal shortcomings and other problems have been plaguing them. It wasn't until the addition of Harden that it brought new hope to the Clippers. However, they have struggled in key matches against the big clubs, raising concerns about their title prospects. At this time, Xiaoka once again missed the game due to injury, casting a shadow on the team's championship prospects. In this article, we'll take a closer look at the current state of the Clippers' record, interior shortcomings, and what the small card and Harden mean to the team.
So far, the Los Angeles Clippers have a 35-17 record this season, ranking third in the West. They are just one step behind the Timberwolves, who are No. 1 in the West5 wins. The Clippers have arguably had a great record, but they have lost some key games, which has also caused some concern among fans about their championship prospects. For example, in the game against the Timberwolves, they trailed by 24 points at one point and ended up losing by 21 points. These losses have exposed the Clippers' inadequacies against top teams.
Among the many big teams, the Clippers' interior problems cannot be ignored. When facing teams like the Lakers, Timberwolves, Pelicans, and Cavaliers, the Clippers often fall behind and passive. These teams all have strong interior players such as Towns, Gobert, Bushy Eyebrows, and Allen Mobley Jr., among others. In contrast, the Clippers' interior players are relatively mediocre in terms of functionality and talent, and they can't compete with their opponents. Although the Clippers have three interior players, they don't have a good rebounding game and rim protection. So far this season, the Clippers have rebounded (429) and blocks per game (53) Ranked only 21st and 15th in the league, respectively. It can be seen that the Clippers are prone to loss when facing tall interior teams, and once the outside shooting is inaccurate or encounters a poor hand, the team is likely to collapse in a short period of time.
The Clippers brought in Harden at all costs at the beginning of the season, hoping that he could assist the team in leading the team to a championship. Judging from the team's performance after Harden's joining, they do have the strength to win the championship. The Clippers have great talent on the offensive end, with high offensive efficiency and a high three-point shooting percentage, which makes their offense a killer weapon. However, the Clippers used too many small lineups, resulting in unguaranteed rebounding and rim protection, which was their shortcoming. They often don't perform well against big teams, which all have strong interior players that the Clippers can't beat against their interior players. When the Clippers face top teams, Harden's military training ability and coping strategy will directly affect the team's championship prospects.
However, now the Clippers are facing another injury problem with the small card. In the game against the Timberwolves, Cara Jr. was injured due to an adductor injury. This led to the decision to put him out of the Warriors' game and potentially miss the All-Star Game and subsequent games. The importance of his health to the team is self-evident, and he is one of the team's core players. The Clippers need the consistency and decisiveness of the small card to win in key games. At this time, his injury problems cast a shadow over the team's championship prospects.
The Clippers' outstanding record is inseparable from the sacrifice of the whole team and the contributions of all players. Despite having Harden joined, the Clippers have a lot of shortcomings in key games against the big teams. Their interior shortcomings have been plaguing the team, unable to compete with opponents in rebounding and rim protection. In addition, the injury situation of the small card again has also brought some concerns to the team's championship prospects. His health and performance are crucial to the team's success. Therefore, if the Clippers want to make a breakthrough on the road to the championship, they need to overcome the shortcomings of the interior and ensure the health of the small card. Only then will they be able to truly compete with the big teams.