LA Clippers: 3 reasons they will win the 2020-21 NBA title
The LA Clippers are an enigma of a team, a group with all of the indicators of a title contender and yet none of the public support. At 43-21 the Clippers have the third-most wins in the league and the fourth-best winning percentage, yet are dismissed as a true threat as their flaws are pulled at like loose threads.
The Clippers fell apart in a grandiose way in the playoffs last season, allowing the Denver Nuggets to come back from a 3-1 deficit and rob the NBA world of seeing the crosstown Los Angeles showdown between the Clippers and the Lakers. That loss is held up not as history but as prediction, proof that the future will play out similarly. Never mind that the West-leading Utah Jazz gave up a similar 3-1 comeback to the Nuggets in the same postseason.
This week they played a game in Phoenix against the team above them in the standings, losing a close game 109-101 without three starters, including their best player in Kawhi Leonard. Suns guard Chris Paul received MVP chants as national media focuses on the Suns’ surprising leap up the standings and whether the Clippers deserve to be in the same tier as the Suns.
That’s the highlight that distracts from the fact the Clippers won 17 of 20 before dropping their most recent two games, most of those games being played without a full complement of starters. Despite frequent injuries and a long-game vision of load management, this team has continued to roll along in a competitive Western Conference.
The LA Clippers are true title contenders
The Clippers have all the signs of being legitimate title contenders. They have a strong statistical resume, with the league’s second-best net rating. They have playoff experience up-and-down the roster, including 444 career postseason games among their expected starting lineup. They have a top-5 player in Kawhi Leonard and a top-15 player in Paul George.
The bracket is also breaking for them in the Western Conference. The Los Angeles Lakers are currently on the opposite side from the Clippers, needing to win two series on the road just to face the Clippers. The Suns, the Clippers’ presumed second-round opponents, have just 181 career playoff games in their starting lineup and just 274 on their entire roster.
There are a number of seasons this is a stronger Clippers team than last season that not only can challenge for the NBA title but should be the favorite to win it. Here are three specific reasons the LA Clippers will redeem the ghost of last year and win the 2020-21 NBA title.