The Los Angeles Clippers are hoping to pull off one of the greatest in-season turnarounds in NBA history. No team has ever gone from being 10 games under .500 to making the NBA Playoffs before, but the 38-36 Clippers are looking to break that record. They’re currently the No. 8 seed in the West and in a standings battle with the Golden State Warriors and Portland Trail Blazers, close behind.
Bennedict Mathurin joined the team in February, half-a-season removed from an NBA Finals run with the Indiana Pacers before getting traded. Mathurin is averaging 19.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in 18 games since joining the team, and has looked comfortable around team leader Kawhi Leonard. Leonard has been enjoying a career-high year in scoring as he’s led the Clippers on this turnaround, with Mathurin fitting in seamlessly since joining.
Leonard’s leadership isn’t a highly-touted aspect of him, with many believing the reserved Leonard might not fit that role well either. However, Mathurin’s recent comments to Clippers media after the team’s 114-113 win over his former team highlight Leonard’s importance to the locker room and to Mathurin’s performances.
“I’m trying not to cuss. Because it’s hard to describe who he is. But he’s different, man. It’s hard to be his teammate and not be a fan at the same time. He’s just amazing. You want to live and learn and follow his footsteps.”
Leonard put up 28 points and eight rebounds in the win over the Pacers, while Mathurin contributed 17 points and seven rebounds off the bench. Both players are solid wing players for the Clippers to deploy as they hope to secure a spot in the NBA Playoffs.
Mathurin is averaging 18.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.3 assists on the season as a whole, with the 23-year-old swingman adding a great scoring punch as the sixth man to a team that’s been over-reliant on Leonard for offense. Kawhi is averaging 28.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 2.0 steals per game in the best production year of his 15-year NBA career.
Ivica Zubac, who was traded for Mathurin, played an entirely different role, which the Clippers have tried to replicate in the interim with a rotation of Brook Lopez and Pacers addition Isaiah Jackson. Their solid production, coupled with Mathurin’s scoring punch, has made them an objectively better team.
Mathurin isn’t the only high-profile addition in the Clippers locker room, as the franchise also acquired a new franchise point guard by trading James Harden for Darius Garland. Harden’s playmaking expertise has created some gaps offensively, but Garland’s additional scoring punch alongside Mathurin and a career-best Leonard has made the team dangerous.
The Clippers have a 117.4 offensive rating since the deadline and have an 11-7 record when Mathurin has played.
Leonard’s leadership has to be a factor in getting this locker room on the same page after multiple midseason issues. Not only do they have the Aspiration scandal in the background, but they also saw Chris Paul’s midseason removal from the team before two core starters were traded in February. The Clippers have pushed on nonetheless, with Leonard leading by example on the court. The 34-year-old forward had described his leadership style on the Clippers in 2021 as someone who leads by staying focused on winning.
“Like I said before, I’m not a rah-rah guy. I come out, tell my teammates what we need to do to win, see what’s happening out there on the floor without going all over the place,” Leonard said, via The Athletic.
Leonard will have his work as a leader cut out for him through the remaining xxx games of the season, as the West Play-In battle rages on. If he plays at the All-NBA level we’ve seen him do this season, the Clippers might have the best chances to make the Playoffs given the Warriors’ injury issues and Blazers’ untested roster.
