The Los Angeles Clippers are entering the NBA preseason in the fifth season of their franchise being led by the dynamic duo of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Unfortunately, injuries and meltdowns have been the common theme for the Clippers in the postseason, as this iteration of L.A. has reached the Conference Finals only once in 2021. The front office has decided to run it back with most of their guys from the 2023 roster, as the addition of Kenyon Martin Jr. is the one minor move they completed in the offseason.
Pundits are well aware that L.A. is dangerous when they are healthy, so that is the major challenge for them heading into opening night. With a little bit over the week before the start of the regular season, everyone in the Clippers lineup is healthy and in tip-top shape, but the fanbase will have to cross its collective fingers the team can keep that up until April.
Their stars are fantastic, their bench is deep, and their coach is elite. The Clippers have the recipe of a championship-contending squad, but the execution still needs to be proven. Despite having the talent and personnel, there is still one clear issue with their team, especially when you compare them to the likes of the Denver Nuggets or Los Angeles Lakers.
What's the rotation of the Clippers going to look like?
When the Clippers are complete, it is a given that Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and Ivica Zubac will start for head coach Tyronn Lue. The coaching staff still has not named a regular starter for the point guard and power forward positions, though, so that is another hurdle for Lue to overcome for the last few games of the Clippers preseason.
It was Terance Mann and Bones Hyland that started on Monday night, but Lue switched it up with Robert Covington and Russell Westbrook on Wednesday. Yes, any Clippers fan knows that the starting lineups will differ if there are injuries, but the roles and expectations for all the players must be defined if they want to compete with the Nuggets or the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals.
Westbrook is the better fit to start alongside Leonard and George because of his ability to orchestrate the offense compared to Hyland who has a score-first mentality. Westbrook has incredible scoring prowess as well, but he proved last year that taking a backseat is not a problem for him. Hyland is a perfect second-string guard who can accumulate a ton of points in a short span, but he cannot play for long stretches because of his deficiencies on the defensive end.
The L.A. backcourt battle is much simpler compared to their wing rotation because there, they have a plethora of ultra-talented guys at their disposal. Aside from Mann, Covington, and Martin Jr., they still have Marcus Morris Sr., Nicolas Batum, and Norman Powell as some of the stellar names that Lue will utilize. The Clippers are deep, but how will they be maximized with all the egos and personalities in their locker room?
Morris was in the middle of trade rumors in the offseason, so there is the possibility that he has been unhappy with his role in L.A. Moreover, there is a chance that Batum will retire after the 2023-24 season, while Westbrook and Hyland has had their history of being unable to fit in their particular role with their previous teams.
Lue has all these immense challenges in his sleeve, and the hope is for the Los Angeles Clippers to compete and win the chip before they move to their new arena.
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