The Los Angeles Clippers are the Western Conference's fourth place team a little less than a month away from the All-Star Break in the National Basketball Association.
Recently, Clippers center Ivica Zubac opened up about an injury to his calf. Basketball and pop culture icon Shaquille O'Neal had a stern response for Clippers star Paul George's championship mentality.
As the February 8 NBA trade deadline gets closer and closer, fans are wondering if the Clippers truly are a playoff contender, or just another collection of stars that don't have what it takes to go all the way.
The area that the Clippers must address stands out like a sore thumb, and it could be vital if they are to face bigger, more physical teams like the Lakers and Nuggets in the playoffs.
Clippers' Rebounding Must Improve
The Clippers have a lot going for them heading toward the second half of the 2024-2025 NBA season.
Coach Tyronn Lue's team is tops in the NBA in three-point shooting percentage at a clip of over 39 percent.
This is a bit deceiving because the Clippers are only 11th in three point shooting makes.
The Clippers are getting plenty of quality shots with James Harden sacrificing his personal scoring stats for the good of the team, deferring to fellow studs Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
If those shots are falling during the playoffs, the Clippers could become a team to beat. If they aren't, the Clippers' lack of rebounding could doom them against the aforementioned teams.
Currently, Coach Lue's team is just 21st in the NBA on the glass. Center Ivica Zubac is first on the team with 9.7 rebounds per game, followed by Leonard and Russell Westbrook with more than three rebounds less per game on average.
With the trade deadline looming, Lue and the Clippers' front office must make a decision. Are there are players on the market who could help address this deficiency? Do they need to focus more on rebounding and boxing out so that the Clippers' athletic, active and aware veterans can clean up the team's misses both inside and outside the three-point arc?
Time will tell. Against a team like the Nuggets, Zubac will be pulled away from the basket which could lead opposing players like Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. to feast on the boards.
Clippers Need Youth, Rebounding at Trade Deadline
The aforementioned stars are great players, but father time is catching up to them in certain ways.
The Clippers could use an athletic and active small or power forward who can stay in front of offensive players and rebound with skill and athleticism.
Recently, longtime glue guy PJ Tucker fell out of Lue's team's playing rotation.
Two Clippers trade deadline names that have been bandied about recently include Royce O'Neal and Dorian Finney-Smith of the Brooklyn Nets.
O'Neal is 6-foot-6, 226 pounds and 30 years old. He is averaging nearly five rebounds per game and has stepped up against some of the Nets' toughest opponents recently. He's not a great shooter, but he would provide youth, hustle and athleticism that will be sorely needed for Coach Lue's team come playoff time.
Finney-Smith is a better shooter than O'Neal who is the same age, an inch taller and weighs about the same as O'Neal. He has plenty of big game experience from his time with the Dallas Mavericks and also would benefit from being traded away from the NBA purgatory that Brooklyn has become now that Kevin Durant is in Phoenix.
If the Clippers can swing a sneaky, under-the-radar deal for one or both of those guys or similar players with size, youth and athleticism, it could be exactly what the team needs to match up with the bigger and younger teams in the West.
With such a tough task ahead of the Clippers, spelling their Big 3 of Harden, Leonard and George with the right type of reserves could mean the difference between a deep playoff run and an early exit this spring.
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