The regular season is over, goodbye to the Clippers! The first in the West may have been abandoned
The Clippers beat the Wizards on the road, ending a two-game losing streak and remaining in fourth place in the West. In fact, if the Clippers don't make big mistakes in the game, then they can continue to stay in the East, even if they don't play well, they have 3An advantage of 5 points. For the Clippers, their ultimate goal is to take the lead in the West. However, with a series of negative events, perhaps the Clippers need to wean themselves off their dependence on the Eastern Conference champions. With an arm injury and having to be separated from the Clippers, Harden's fitness took a big hit.
Willis' arm injury caused the Clippers an unspeakable pain. Just after the Clippers officially announced that Wei Shao was injured in his left arm and could not come back, Jeffries, a well-known medical authority, broke the news on his Weibo that Wei Shao's current ** degree depends on whether he has had surgery, and the fracture of the arm generally takes six weeks to complete. At the same time, a reporter for the Clippers also noticed the news of Wei Shao's injury, which could be out for six weeks. Now the Clippers have less than half a month left in their season, and it seems that Wei Shao has missed the next games.
In fact, after Wei Shao broke his arm, Clippers fans were worried and happy, Wei Shao often commanded on the court, especially under the leadership of Wei Shao, and lost in the hands of the Lakers, so many people feel that the Clippers will become stronger without William. In fact, it's not right for fans to think that way. First of all, the Clippers' rotation is tight, in other words, if it's three people who are about to reach the salary cap, then their role players won't improve much. The Clippers' boss is willing to spend money, and they have an excellent coaching team, and their rotation ability is stronger than that of a strong team like the Suns, but their shortcomings are very obvious.
Harden has no role at all in the point guard position, and no one can expect him to be qualified for the point guard position. For a long time, both Tyronn Lue and the Clippers have relied too much on Harden, and many times as soon as Harden leaves, the Clippers cannot play as well as they should, and the offense of the entire team is a mess. Although William will be suppressed occasionally, he will also help Harden share some of the pressure. Without him, the Clippers' bench lineup would be a mess, or Harden would have more chances to play, and Harden would take more damage.
Harden is not the Harden of the year, and Harden has long been disqualified from MVP when he was injured. Another overlooked thing is that Harden joined the Clippers and got a consistent playing in his first game. During this time, both George and Leonard have been given some rest, with the exception of Harden, who is a starter regardless of his performance and has played an average of 40 minutes. The Clippers want to thank Harden for his physical condition, but no one can guarantee Harden's physical condition, which is also an unhealthy practice.
Personally, I don't think the Clippers should hold on to the idea of an Eastern Conference championship. Now it's our turn to come on as a substitute, especially for the veteran players who are too tired. And now the Clippers, still at the top of the East, the gap between them and the Timberwolves has reached three, and it is difficult for them to catch up. If they can keep their hopes for a top-four finish in the West, it's a no-brainer, and even with their most recent underperformance, they're still three points above PhoenixFive games, that's a big advantage, and they can replace one player in the starting lineup to guarantee home advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Wei Shao's arm injury gave the Clippers a wake-up call, the core players of the Clippers are very good, but those who are familiar with the Clippers know that the Clippers have been in recent times when Leonard and George were injured. Now it seems that the Clippers are in good shape, but they must have enough quality to keep several cores healthy, especially Harden, who is in dire need of a period of recovery.