Are the LA Clippers ready to crash the NBA Championship picture in the Western Conference?
For the last couple of seasons, the LA Clippers have been one of the most disappointing teams in the Western Conference. In fairness, much of that has been due to injuries. Both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have bounced in and out of LA’s lineup over the past couple of seasons and that has ultimately prevented them from playing any type of factor in the playoffs.
Heading into the 2023-24 NBA season, the hope is that the Clippers can finally put past injuries behind them. If they’re able to do so, there’s no question that the Clippers will have as good of a chance as any other team in the West to win the conference and compete for a championship in the NBA Finals.
The big question is whether they can remain healthy. The good news for Clippers fans is that it appears, at least for now, that they are healthy for the moment.
In an interview with SiriusXM NBA Radio, Clippers coach Ty Lue said that both Kawhi and PG are expected to be ready to go (healthy-wise) for the start of training camp next month. If that is indeed the case, the Clippers could be in a great position to crash the top of the West hierarchy heading into the season.
How does a healthy LA Clippers team stack up with the rest of the Western Conference?
Admittedly, there’s no guarantee that the Clippers can remain healthy for the length of a full regular season and postseason. In fact, they’ve yet to do it once since Kawhi and PG have been members of the team.
In a perfect world, if they were able to do so, where would the Clippers stack up in the West? Even without James Harden, which is probably going to happen at some point this season, the Clippers would be a competitive team in the West. Scratch that, they’d be extremely competitive in the conference.
You can make the argument that there’s no other team in the West, other than the Phoenix Suns, that has a better 1-2 punch than Kawhi and PG. LA may not have the perfect supporting cast around their stars, which is probably a big reason why they’d even be open to acquiring Harden, but they’re a fairly deep team as well.
If the Clippers can remain healthy this season, I don’t think it’s that outlandish to suggest that they could finish as a top 4 seed in the Western Conference. They wouldn’t be a favorite but they’re certainly be a big problem for some of the other contenders in the West.
Heading into the start of training camp, the Clippers are certainly a team to keep an eye on as a dark horse NBA Championship contender. If they can remain healthy and find a rhythm, this team has a championship ceiling this year. The fact that they’re starting off the season on the right foot is something they should be absolutely encouraged about.