The Los Angeles Clippers were widely expected to be one of the main challengers in the Western Conference this season. Ever since they acquired Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, great things have been expected of them. But the team has failed to deliver on that front time and time again. In fairness to them, injuries have played a huge part, but they have still underachieved considering the quality at their disposal.
Even the 2022-23 season began poorly for the Clippers; they lost 4 straight in their first 6 games. They recovered a bit and have since been hovering around .500, but had another losing streak to end December and start January. Since then, the Clippers have bounced back with 6 wins in their last 7 and find themselves as the 4th seed by a narrow margin.
Kawhi Leonard Says The Clippers Need To Do A Lot Of Catching Up
A large reason for their success is that Kawhi Leonard finally looks like he’s back. The Clippers star is averaging 30 points per game over his last 11 games, and looks like he could be getting back into the groove and lead the Clippers to the postseason success that they were promised. But he knows that there is a lot more to it than a winning streak, talking about how they need to catch up a lot more after their recent win.
Kawhi Leonard on if the Clippers are close to where they want to be after winning 6 of 7:
"No. We had a slow start, so we got a lot of catching up to do, but we're making the right strides."pic.twitter.com/3HcOm0uZnL
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) February 1, 2023
“We had a slow start, so we got a lot of catching up to do, but we’re making the right strides.”
Other players might be satisfied with a winning streak, but Kawhi Leonard knows what it takes to win championships and the quality required to do so. His unavailability has held the Clippers back, there is no denying this, but he’s also the man that will have to step up if they are to finally get to the NBA Finals. There is a great chance of them doing that, the Western Conference seems pretty open this season.
The Los Angeles Clippers clearly have high aspirations and are just a game and a half behind the 3rd seed Sacramento Kings. The Memphis Grizzlies have shown signs of issues as well, recently enduring a bit of a losing streak themselves. If the Clippers can make a big push in the second half of the season, then a high seed and playoff progression is a very high possibility for the franchise.
We sincerely appreciate and respect you as a reader of our site. It would help us a lot if you follow us on Google News because of the latest update.
Thanks for following us. We really appreciate your support.
