L.A. Clippers: Do they really have anything to be worried about?

Considering injuries and load management schedules, is it possible for the LA Clippers to not be as good as their on-paper talent suggests?

From the moment Kawhi Leonard and Paul George arrived, the actions of the LA Clippers told the NBA world to wait until the playoffs.

The ceiling of LA’s potential regular-season win total would take a backseat to the overall health of the players the franchise paid a premium to acquire. More than the top seed in the Western Conference, the right peak at the ideal time would further their championship goal and validate one of the more unique blockbuster deals in NBA history.

By most available metrics, that plan is working. The LA Clippers have sacrificed some semblance of homecourt advantage but are still No. 3 in the conference only 1.5 games back from second.

They’re seventh in offensive rating and sixth in defense despite Leonard and George missing a combined 35 games and the latter playing his fewest minutes per game since his sophomore campaign.

But for every amount of load management enacted by the organization, bits of chemistry manifested only through the hardwood are sacrificed. It hasn’t truly been felt yet, but when that cohesion is needed most, it might.

What does it say about the state of the Clippers that they make the fifth-fewest passes per game in the NBA?

It’s in part due to the construction of their roster, where their three leading scorers — Leonard, George and Lou Williams — tend to do some of their best work independently.

This isolation-heavy style, however, hasn’t been essential for a Kawhi-led team since his ascension to superstardom.

Following last year’s deadline acquisition of Marc Gasol, the Toronto Raptors were a top-five passing team. When Leonard finished third in MVP voting in 2016-17, the San Antonio Spurs ranked sixth.

A lack of familiarity may be at play, where LA’s top guns have an instinctive trust in themselves more than teammates. After all, the majority of this same squad with the same coach looked as cohesive a unit as there was last season, finishing 12th in passes per game.

The assumption has always been that the Clippers will turn it on when they need to. Come the home stretch of the regular season, they’ll flip the switch to enter the postseason rolling, but the unpredictability of injury might not allow them the chance.

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George has been nagged by a reoccurring hamstring injury that’s knocked him out for multiple stretches, including just before the All-Star break.

Patrick Beverley had recently missed five straight due to his right groin. His all-out style of hustle certainly doesn’t do his durability any favors, resulting in 16 missed games on the year.

Leonard has avoided back-to-backs all season long and the possibility of a pop-up ailment is always real.

Integrating two All-Stars is never easy, even more so when their availability is constantly in question. Of L.A.’s top-10 in minutes per game, only two have appeared in at least 50 of the teams 57 games so far this season.

Injuries of any kind are nothing to make light of, but the constant absence of Kawhi makes you wonder about the opportunities they could’ve seized with healthier bodies to strengthen a bond that will certainly be tested come playoff time.

The LA Clippers aren’t as adept in the absence of Leonard as Toronto was last season. They already have two more losses under those circumstances in nine fewer games. The Raptors’ defense improved by 2.4 points. L.A.’s drops by 3.0.

Kawhi isn’t likely to sit out in the playoffs, but he won’t be playing all 48 minutes. How will a heightened level of importance towards the team’s success affect an already fragile body throughout what is hopefully a run to the Finals?

With the league’s highest-scoring bench and two new additions, LA has perhaps the deepest roster in the league, but how often does a loaded rotation affect the championship outcome when the best players are expected to play more than ever?

The Clippers had us believing health was the ultimate decider in their title hopes. It’s a major factor, especially in regards to players the caliber of Leonard and PG. But it seems LA underestimated the ripple effects behind an unquantifiable aspect of team success, the type that helps leapfrog the hurdles standing in the way of every contender.

At full strength, they’re as good a bet as any to win it all come June, but if it hasn’t happened yet, who knows if and when they’ll get to that point.

As March approaches, they better hope it’s soon, because a grouping of talent is only so good when it doesn’t know how to work as a collective unit.