Heading into the NBA Playoffs, the LA Clippers may be set up for an unlikely NBA Finals run.
Back in 2019, when the LA Clippers originally signed Kawhi Leonard, the hope was that this move would result in an NBA Championship. At the very least, it would give the Clippers a sense of relevancy for the next few years. While the Clippers still haven't won a championship, they were relevant for Kawhi's first two seasons in uniform, making the conference semifinals during his first year and the conference finals during his second.
However, that's when injuries completely derailed the Clippers. Since making a run to the conference finals back in 2021, the Clippers missed the playoffs during the 2021-22 season and lost in the first round of the playoffs in 2022-23 and 2023-24. Kawhi would only play a combined four playoff games during that span.
During the 2024 offseason, when Paul George, who had also been acquired alongside Kawhi in 2019, decided to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers, it did seem as if this build was coming to a crashing end. LA did manage to re-sign James Harden, but his impact was minimal with an injured Kawhi and PG during the 2023-24 season.
And for most of this season, the sentiment was that the Clippers were a playoff team but didn't have much of a chance to make much noise. In fact, up until March 4, the Clippers were battling for one of the final two Play-In Tournament spots in the West. But that's when everything began to change for LA. It's almost as if they were able to flip a switch.
Since March 5, the Clippers are 18-3 and managed to close the season by winning eight straight games. Securing the 5th seed in the West, you can't help but feel as if the stars may finally be aligning for an NBA Finals run for the Clippers.
Is this the year for the LA Clippers?
With a healthy Kawhi and Harden, who are clicking as a duo heading into the playoffs, the pieces are in place for the Clippers to make a strong run - especially considering the road they'll have to the NBA Finals. In the first round, the Clippers are going to be taking on a Denver Nuggets team that has been trending in the wrong direction. Since March 9, the Nuggets are just 10-11. They also just fired their head coach, and Jamal Murray is unlikely to be 100 percent healthy.
These are two teams that are trending in the opposite direction at this point in the season. Would it be that surprising if the Clippers "upset" the Nuggets in this first-round series? Absolutely not. In the conference semifinals, the Clippers would likely take on the Oklahoma City Thunder. Even though the Thunder would be heavy favorites, they still have to prove themselves as contender.
As good as OKC has been the last two years, they haven't had that "breakthrough" moment in the NBA Playoffs. Maybe that will happen this season, but if not, perhaps LA's vast experience with Kawhi and Harden leading the way could be one team that trips them up.
I wouldn't predict the Clippers to win this series, but with the star power they have and with how well their supporting cast has been this year, nothing is off the table in terms of a potential upset for LA. After that, the toughest opponent that the Clippers could end up facing in the conference finals is the Los Angeles Lakers or Golden State Warriors. At that point, anything could happen.
There are certainly a lot of variables that have to go right for the Clippers, beginning with health, but there's a chance this is the year where the stars finally align for the franchise.