As the playoffs draw near, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and the Clippers seem unfazed by playoff seeding, exuding confidence in whichever position they secure. The Clippers have hit a stride with the addition of James Harden as their starting point guard, an area of concern for the team for years. With Harden at the helm of the offense and a healthy Leonard and George, they've boasted one of the more impressive records in the NBA.
The Clippers' remarkable depth isn't the sole source of their confidence as they gear up for the April playoff push. According to comments from reporter Ohm Youngmisuk on ESPN's The Hoop Collective Podcast, the team believes their veteran experience will shine through in the playoffs, proving crucial to their success.
“During this struggles of the Clippers, during this last like 8, 9 game stretch, Paul George just kept saying, ‘Look we’re a veteran team we obviously want the number one seed or the highest seed we can get,' and even Kawhi Leonard said this, ‘As long as we finish in the top 6 or out of the play-in, the whole thing is we gotta be playing well going into the playoffs'. They feel because they're a veteran team whatever the match-up is, they’ll figure out a way like today’s game on Sunday. That was the type of game where basically they felt like, okay you guys blitzed us in the beginning it looked bad, it looked really bad and then they comeback now they're in the thick of it and now all of a sudden you see the Wolves looking a little uncertain and these guys are looking confident the Clippers because they’ve been there and they know they got Kawhi.
He continued, “They feel like any series, their probably not going admit it this but outside of facing Denver, Denver’s a problem for them because of Jokic of course but I think they feel like any other match-up, even if it’s Oklahoma City, who’s had their number, Minnesota, even though these match-ups may look bad in the regular season I think they like their odds in a 7 game series because they have so many veterans and so many experienced all-time future hall-of-famers.”
Yongmisuk's assessment of the Clippers and their playoff push is on point. Currently holding the fourth seed in the Western Conference with a 39-20 record, they are just 2.5 games behind the Thunder for the top spot. If the playoffs began today, they would meet a young Pelicans team at the fifth seed, lacking playoff experience. This matchup is one the Clippers would likely embrace given the current circumstances.
A crucial factor for the Clippers' playoff success is their health. Russell Westbrook recently fractured his hand, and Paul George missed two games against the Lakers and the Kings due to a sore knee, resulting in losses. If the Clippers can maintain their winning momentum while also having a relatively healthy roster as they head toward April, they'll dramatically improve their chances to compete for the NBA title.
The Clippers will test their status as contenders as they face Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks tonight at 8 PM EST.
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