Led by Kawhi Leonard, Norman Powell and the Toronto Raptors won the 2019 NBA Championship. Alongside Leonard and Paul George in Los Angeles, Powell believes the LA Clippers can do the same thing for years to come.

The current LA Clippers roster took years to construct, but entering the 2022 postseason, appears poised to surprise some teams and make a potential championship run, especially if star Kawhi Leonard can return. They've bolstered their roster numerous times, and even look a little scary with two of their three studs leading the way.

Paul George, however, returned from his three month absence with only seven games to play. Norman Powell returned from his near-two month absence with only three games remaining. Now with only two games left in the regular season, is it enough time for this Clippers team to jell before a do-or-die play-in game?

“Yeah, I think so,” responded Norman Powell when faced with the question. “And we are all, we have a pretty veteran team and we know how to play and these guys have done a great job, being able to go with the flow, whatever the season has brung them, injuries, whatever it is, guys have been in and out of lineups, everybody has been able to hold the rope and keep on going. To plug in me and PG and get us back to speed and healthy, I think it is going to be really easy (to get ready for the play-in).”

Paul George agreed that it shouldn't take much time for the duo to develop chemistry and for the team to adjust to their respective returns.

“It’s just great to have high level, high IQ guys that you can put on the court and they can just pick it up,” George said.

Aside from the two, go-to scorers in George and Powell, the Clippers have all the right complimentary pieces around them. Reggie Jackson and Marcus have smoothly settled back into secondary and tertiary options on the court. Ivica Zubac has shown off his offensive game via post-ups, and the Clippers have continued to reap the rewards of feeding their defensive anchor. Nicolas Batum and Robert Covington will continue to be utilized in an array of lineups that'll wreak havoc on opponents. Luke Kennard, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Terance Mann, also known as the ‘LIT' crew, have been a spark words simply can't describe for this Clippers team, and they've shown no signs of slowing down.

All of this is why Norman Powell gets a Raptors-like feel from his new team, and that's without two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard.

“We got a lot of firepower,” Powell explained. “It kind of reminds me of the Raptors team in 2019 with how deep our team is and the different positions that we have of guys being able to do multiple things on the floor. I’m excited.

“The system has been solid, everybody knows it, I know the system, Chauncey has the system in Portland. So coming over was really easy. It’s just sticking to what we do and going out there and playing basketball the right way and that is what we have been doing all season.”

Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue has hesitated, and at times scoffed, when told that the Clippers appear to be a potentially dangerous 8-seed if they're able to get injured guys back. Well, they've come back, and even though Lue is trying to remain humble about it, even he believes his team is starting to look dangerous.

“We just gotta get our plays we want to run, get them down for [Norman Powell], make sure he's comfortable,” Lue said after Wednesday's win over the Suns. “If he can be better than this, we can be dangerous. I tell you, we're gonna be dangerous come play-in and playoffs. Something to really build off of and very encouraging seeing how we play.”

Whether or not Kawhi Leonard returns this postseason, it's looking like the Clippers have enough as it stands to make a deep playoff run. Getting through the Phoenix Suns or Memphis Grizzlies is a bit of a daunting task, but the veteran leadership on this team combined with the geniuses on the coaching staff could make for a very interesting postseason.