I can’t quit the Clippers. Last year, I picked them to win the title. One day after the Bucks did, I went on a podcast and picked the Clippers to win this year’s title. (In October, I wrote a column about how their ceiling was higher than every other team in the Western Conference, which, against common sense, is something I still believe.)
Today, even though they’ve struggled through an injury-riddled season, they’re still the proverbial team nobody wants to play. Even without Kawhi Leonard—whose return is realistic!—just consider last year’s deep playoff run, when they dramatically upset the Jazz, and how better equipped their current rotation is to disrupt expectations. While fully understanding they’re more likely to be eliminated in the first round than return to the conference finals, I also have a hard time conceptualizing four losses in a seven-game series.
The rationale for optimism is straightforward. Paul George was pegged as a spellbinding complementary piece when the Clippers first traded for him. He’s proven to be more than that, a superstar on both ends who can elevate those around him with Grade A shotmaking and playmaking. Ty Lue is Bill Belichick, one of basketball’s shrewdest tacticians with a deep, seasoned, convertible roster on his chessboard.
