Why the LA Clippers Will be NBA Champions
Why the LA Clippers will be NBA Champions
Most people know the talents of the Lakers, Bucks, and Clippers; the three teams leading the odds to win a championship. Many envision a Lakers-Bucks matchup where LeBron gets one more ring. Odds and betting typically favor the Lakers, meanwhile ESPN’s BPI model, as well as Basketball Reference’s simulation both predict the Bucks will win it all. But the team that will be champions are the Los Angeles Clippers.
Fear the Klaw
The Board Man gets paid! Kawhi Leonard has arguably been a top 3 player in the league since his trade to Toronto. After a historic playoff run, with moments of stopping Giannis, hitting the most insane buzzer-beater, and beating the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, he’s once again poised for playoff success. During this season, Kawhi averaged 26.9 PPG, 7.3 TRBG, 5.0 ASG, which are all career highs. He’s also doing the best he has in a long while it come to be the clear main scorer. In these three lineups;
P. Beverley | J. Green | M. Harrell | K. Leonard | L. Williams
P. Beverley | M. Harrell | K. Leonard | L. Shamet | L. Williams
P. Beverley | M. Harkless | K. Leonard | L. Shamet | I. Zubac,
The Clippers outscore opponents by margins of 42.5, 42.1, and 20.4 per 100 possessions. That’s definitely insane. You might think that these could be non-qualifiers, but lineup played at least 36 minutes together during the regular season. You might see the lineups and point out Lou Will as a scorer but he is shooting 41.6% from the field this season. Kawhi is the clear leader and clutch player of this team.
If you need further proof, when Patrick Beverley, a player who doesn’t score much, and Kawhi Leonard, outscore opponents by 16.1 points when they are both on the court. That’s just below the 16.6 created by Giannis and Khris Middleton, who can both score very efficiently. Paul and Kawhi has a +11.2 margin. This higher than Lebron and Anthony Davis. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George is just the best two-way duo in the NBA.
Kawhi also held the Greek Freak to just 22 PPG last year in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The point is that the Board Man is to be feared.
Crazy Depth
Last year we saw what two talented teams could do in the playoffs. Funny enough, it was the Clippers and the Raptors. Kawhi tooks a Raptors team who time and time again failed to get over the hump to a Finals win. And that Raptors team was really talented. But these Clippers squad is even more talented. The supporting cast is better, with major scoring contributors in Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell, a guard who can defend in Patrick Beverley, Reggie Jackson and JaMychal Green, and a sharpshooter in Landry Shamet. Not to mention, the second option on this team is Paul George, who was nursing a shoulder injury all season. This team is 100% healthy and has all of July practices to work out the kinks in the rotation. But the depth is just insane.
Last year in the playoffs, the Clippers took the Warriors to 6 games. The eight seed, with no all star, playing against Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and Klay Thompson, took them to 6 before losing. Now losing wasn’t the goal, but taking that team to 6 alone is a feat. It’s rather astonishing, and so many players had an impact.
The depth just runs deepest here compared to any other team.
There is absolutely no way any other team will win in 7 games. Not the Lakers. Not the Bucks. No one. So place your bets now. The Clippers are winning it all.
– Milan Varia