Among the several teams expected to compete for a title this season, the Clippers may be the most dangerous of them all.
After a few seasons of failure in the West, the Clips are ready to prove themselves as legitimate as they look to dominate with their new and improved roster.
Even still, star swing man Paul George is feeling the pressure to win, as he knows that he’s running out of time to capture a title.
Paul George Says He’s More Inspired Than Ever To Capture A Championship
This week, during a chat with the media, PG explained the mindset of his guys heading into training camp and got real about his dwindling opportunities to win.
Focused,” Paul George said when asked to describe the vibe of this Clippers team. “Focused, I think. Understanding the opportunity, the window, and I think that’s how I approached every day training was just a focused, locked-in mentality to bring the best out of myself, to get the best out of myself.”
“My window is shrinking to be a champion,” George admitted. “I think [focused] is the one word I can say to sum up the mindset going into this year.”
For the Clippers, health will be key this season as they welcome back Kawhi Leonard for the first time since the 2020-21 campaign.
If this group can stay on the floor, big things could be in store for them — and PG is hungry to find out what they can do at full strength.
“I think when Kawhi went down, Lawrence [Frank], the team’s, T-Lue’s approach of having T-Mann play for minutes, Luke play more minutes, Amir get minutes,” George said. “A lot of our young guys I think grew so much when Kawhi went down, to where now if we’re faced with obstacles, he’s pretty confident in the group, and I think the group is confident in each other, having given those minutes and put in those positions. I think it was a lot of value. Granted, you don’t want to see your best player go down with an injury at all for that matter, but there was a lot of value, I think, gained from Kawhi being out and myself being out. I think there was a lot of minutes there, as well.”
With George, Kawhi, Norman Powell, John Wall, Terence Mann, and Reggie Jackson, the Clippers are absolutely stacked and brimming with talent from top to bottom.
Of course, they will only go as far as Kawhi and PG take them. I but if the Clippers keep the same urgency they are showing right now, then it should lead to some excellent gameplay at the very least.
