On Jan. 18, the Los Angeles Clippers were defeated by the Utah Jazz to drop to a 23-24 record, falling to sub-.500 for the first time this season. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George struggled staying healthy, and the team’s depth didn’t fully live up to its potential. Given this, moves at the trade deadline felt imminent.
The new look Clippers all add different components to the Clippers roster that was already strong and was seemingly underperforming this season. With their additions and a healthy Kawhi and PG13, the Clippers feel like a true threat in the West.
Kawhi started the season somewhat slowly, but in his last 12 games, he’s averaging 27.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 4.6 assists with his typical effective, quality defense: 1.8 steals and 0.8 blocks. He has done this on a great 64.1TS%, too. He’s been really, really good recently. In his last 12, Paul George is sitting with numbers of 23.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.1 assists (while also bringing his typical defensive impact) on an efficient 60.4 TS%. Ultimately, despite how good these two may be, they cannot do it all for this Clippers team. That’s why their additions at the trade deadline were so impactful.
Eric Gordon was seemingly on the Rockets trade block since James Harden was traded. Although he’s having a down season in comparison to years past (13 points per game on 57.1 TS%), that could be accredited to the Rockets’ lack of cohesion and chemistry, which seemingly annoyed Gordon. His downhill juice and shot creation adds an interesting element to the Clippers in his return to Los Angeles.
Mason Plumlee may be one of the most underrated pickups of the trade deadline. In Charlotte, he had put together a wildly underrated season (averages of 12.1 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 3.6 assists on 67.8 TS%). His combination of rolling, passing, and defense make him quite an effective, impactful role player. Coming to the Clippers as a backup, he is undoubtedly one of the league’s premier backup centers. He is simply nearly too good to be a backup.
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Bones Hyland’s place in Denver came to a starting halt, as the conflict between the two sides escalated rather quickly, landing Hyland in LA. During the season, he has averaged 11.9 points on 54.1 TS%. His shooting and offensive ability is streaky, but when he’s on, he’s on. He feels like the type of player to win a playoff game for you but also lose one, potentially because of his lack of defensive talent. Having a player like this can be good for a team this deep, as there is no need to play him significant minutes.
The last addition for the Clippers came from the buyout marker rather than the trade deadline: Russell Westbrook. A controversial player, to say the least, Westbrook found himself in a bench role this season, averaging 15.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 7.5 assists on an inefficient 49.6 TS%. He is still a high quality playmaker with a good ability to get downhill, but his decision making and shot selection is often questioned. This Clippers fit feels like a good one with the shooters and defenders surrounding him. He could be the x-factor for this team.
Charlie Spungin , NBA Analyst