The Clippers have arrived at the playoffs after a season of change, sacrifice and one late U-turn that led to a 51-win season, a Pacific Division title and a brush with the top seed in the Western Conference before landing at the No. 4 spot.
The Clippers head into the postseason with high expectations of turning their season-long twists into an NBA championship, starting with Game 1 of their best-of-seven series against No. 5 seed Dallas Mavericks on Sunday afternoon at Crypto.com Arena.
“The best thing to come out of this season is to win the championship,” guard Norman Powell said.
THE START
The roster was set and expectations were in place. Russell Westbrook was in the lineup, Kawhi Leonard checked in healthy, and the season was off to a 3-1 start.
Then the rumors started. James Harden was again demanding a trade, and the Clippers were his preferred destination. Would the deal go through?
The answer came late on Halloween night. The Clippers completed a deal with Philadelphia that netted them the mercurial but widely accomplished point guard and suddenly the season was turned on its side.
All the planning done during training camp and the preseason was undone by Harden’s arrival. Coach Tyronn Lue now faced the Herculean task of fitting into the lineup one of the league’s greatest scorers alongside three other future Hall of Famers.
Would it work?
After an early stumble, the Clipper righted themselves and produced a season filled with ups and downs, new players and old issues (injuries).
“(It’s been) a roller coaster. Yeah, in many ways,” guard Terance Mann said about the season.
NOVEMBER 2023
Harden’s signing produced a euphoria the Clippers hadn’t experienced since Kawhi Leonard and Paul George brought the 213 to the city. The atmosphere in the locker room was party-like, good vibes all around, with Harden embracing former Houston teammate Westbrook.
“When we first made the deal, we believed right away, we just didn’t know if it would work or how it was going to work,” Lue said. “But we knew we had to figure it out.”
Lue’s faith was tested during an initial six-game losing streak with Harden. He seemed hesitant to shoot, deferring his shot to his new teammates, and not displaying the attacking style that has marked his 15-year career. Before Harden, the Clippers had an offense and a defense that ranked among the NBA’s top five; after he arrived, their efficiency in both categories plummeted to 27 and 25, respectively.
“Whenever you get something new or something new is happening, growing pains happen,” Powell said. “This team is super talented, and we were going to be able to figure it out.”
WESTBROOK’S REQUEST
Westbrook and Harden weren’t meshing in the starting lineup. Two All-Star point guards on the floor was one too many, so Westbrook volunteered to move to the bench, a move that brought the season’s tagline: sacrifice.
“If he makes that leap like that, it shows us and other teammates that are sitting on the bench that we all can sacrifice ourselves,” Leonard said at the time.
As Harden, Westbrook and the others got more comfortable, victories began to creep in and by the time December rolled around, the Clippers were 8-10.
THE TURNAROUND
The Clippers suddenly had it figured out and won 26 of 31 games, grinding out games against elite teams and showing the grit the Clippers had been missing, especially during their annual Grammy road trip. Suddenly, they were the darlings of the league and being described as legitimate contenders to win their first NBA championship. More importantly, Leonard and George were healthy, Harden was scoring, and Westbrook was happy.
“There’s nothing that surprised me or wowed me with having James here,” Lue said during the streak. “I mean, I know how good he is, I know what he’s capable of. I know how he was going to help us. All of that has been that, plus more.”
TROUBLE IN CLIPPERLAND
Not all was good, though. Not all were happy. For weeks, veteran forward P.J. Tucker complained to anyone who would listen that he deserved more playing time. He had come to the Clippers in the trade that brought Harden and was frustrated with his role as a bench warmer.
Tucker sought a trade, but when nothing transpired, he took to social media and called it a joke. Guard Bones Hyland also was displeased with his role that went from starting to barely playing after the Harden trade. Both were sent home from a road game before the All-Star break in what was viewed as punishment.
“We have so many guys that can do so many great things,” Westbrook said at the season’s halfway point. “And, you know, I think we’ve been trying to figure that out as the season goes along and we are still getting better at it.”
LOST THEIR WAY
The victories slowed as the season rolled into the All-Star break, and by the time the Clippers returned to the gym in late February, the magic was all but gone. They didn’t win more than two games in a row and posted an 8-10 record over the course of 30 days.
“It’s not one thing you can pinpoint it on,” Westbrook said at the time. “I think collectively we just got to come together during tough times. Adversity to me is a real measure of who you are as a man and two, who you are as a team.
“I think now is a perfect time for us to be able to pull together, use what we know how to win games and use ourselves to help each other out to close games and win games.”
INJURIES HIT
The Clippers played stretches this season without starting center Ivica Zubac, Westbrook, Mann and backup center Mason Plumlee.
George missed five games because of a knee injury, Harden sat out because of sore left shoulder and Leonard, who had been enjoying his healthiest season since 2016-17 playing 68 games, missed a total of 13 games.
Leonard sat out the final eight regular-season games because of inflammation in his right knee, an injury that could affect his participation in the playoffs. He is listed as questionable.
WHO ARE THEY?
The injuries compounded the losses. The Clippers were suddenly lost, a team without an identity.
They were no longer a team that could grind out victories. They turned the ball over, played weak transition defense and developed bad habits on offense.
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“We gotta find our identity,” Harden said. “Teams are scoring easy on us. Makes it difficult to score offensively.”
Tired of the talk about identity, Lue finally found one for his team – soft.
FINAL TURN
Determined to shed the soft label, the Clippers found a way to win down the stretch without their top star, winning seven of their final 11 games. George carried the team in six of those games without Leonard, averaging 22 points over six games, including a 39-point, 11-rebound and seven-assists performance against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Heading to the playoffs, Lue gave his team a new identity – winners.
No. 4 CLIPPERS vs. No. 5 DALLAS MAVERICKS
Series schedule, all times PT
Game 1: Sunday, at Clippers, 12:30 p.m. (ABC/Ch. 7)
Game 2: Tuesday, at Clippers, 7 p.m. (TNT)
Game 3: Friday, April 26, at Dallas, 5 p.m. (ESPN)
Game 4: Sunday, April 28, at Dallas, 12:30 p.m. (ABC/Ch. 7)
Game 5 (if nec.): Wednesday, May 1, at Clippers
Game 6 (if nec.): Friday, May 3, at Dallas
Game 7 (if nec.): Sunday, May 5, at Clippers
