The Clippers are younger and deeper around Darius Garland, but questions about Kawhi Leonard and the frontcourt still place them below the West’s best teams.
The Clippers look much different from the older team that began last season, because Darius Garland now leads the offense, while Rui Hachimura, Keaton Wagler and several younger players have changed the group around him.
Los Angeles should have enough scoring, shooting and ballhandling to stay with good teams during the regular season, but Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Denver and Minnesota still have more size and fewer holes on both ends.
The biggest problem will show up against the best teams, because Brook Lopez cannot protect the rim by himself, especially when another center pulls him away from the basket and forces the Clippers to defend with a smaller group.
Garland Gives the Offense a Base
Garland averaged 18.8 points and 6.7 assists across 45 games last season, and his shooting and passing should give the Clippers a steady guard who can create shots for himself, for Hachimura and for the rest of the team.
The younger roster built around Garland also gives Tyronn Lue more ways to set his rotation, with Hachimura spacing the floor and Wagler adding another player who can handle the ball.
Lawrence Frank said, "Rui is an elite three-point shooter and an efficient mid-range scorer who uses his size to exploit mismatches," and those skills should make Hachimura a good fit next to Garland each night.
Los Angeles can also turn to more defense off the bench from Kris Dunn and Derrick Jones Jr. when matchups demand it, while Garland and Hachimura give the starting group enough offense to keep the Clippers in games that become a scoring race.
The concern is size, because the best teams in the West can score without going small, and the Clippers do not have another dependable big defender behind Lopez.
The Leonard Question
Kawhi Leonard averaged 27.9 points and 6.4 rebounds in 65 games, but his agreed trade to Toronto is still on hold while the NBA looks into his outside business deals.
Until there is an answer, Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick remain with the Raptors, Leonard remains with the Clippers, and Los Angeles has to prepare for two very different teams.
The possible lineup with Leonard still in Los Angeles has more scoring at the top, but it also keeps the same health questions that helped push the Clippers toward a younger roster.
If the trade is finished, Ingram would give the Clippers another scorer, but Los Angeles would still need a wing defender who can take the hardest matchup each night.
Oklahoma City and San Antonio can use their length on both ends, Denver can run every big moment through Nikola Jokic, and Minnesota has scoring, passing and rim protection across its lineup.
The Clippers can answer with Garland’s passing and Hachimura’s shooting, but the top teams have more ways to win when their first plan stops working.
The frontcourt need has been there since earlier this summer, and adding another big defender would help Los Angeles more than another scorer on the outside, so the Clippers fit in the middle of the Western Conference right now, with one more frontcourt piece and an answer on Leonard needed before they belong with the best teams.
