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The Los Angeles Clippers were two games away from the NBA Finals last season. Some have suggested that if Kawhi Leonard was there, the Clippers would have outlasted the Phoenix Suns and engaged in a proper battle with the Milwaukee Bucks in the Finals.
However, since Leonard wasn't there, the Clippers fell to the Suns in six and knew they lost another chance at the NBA title. Even though the Clippers were aware that Leonard would be out for a part of this season, there was still hope they could recreate their success from last year.
Unfortunately for them, they entered Sunday's game against the New York Knicks with a record of 23-24, and there are still questions about when Leonard and Paul George will be back.
Without further adieu, here are two glaring reasons for the Clippers' ongoing struggles.
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Reasons for Clippers' struggles
1. Injuries
The biggest reason for the Clippers' struggles is health. Their biggest star, Kawhi Leonard, suffered a small ACL tear versus the Suns in last season's playoffs. While the hope is Leonard will be back this season, there's still some doubt about his status.
As a healthy Leonard is one of the very best players in the NBA, the Clippers have missed his two-way presence on the court. There was a glimmer of hope, however, as Paul George opened the season playing great to help pick up the slack with Leonard sidelined.
Then, more bad news came for the Clippers. After that great start to the season, George injured his right elbow, and his 24.7 points per game were also lost for the Clippers for an extended period. With both Leonard and George out, in addition to other health issues throughout the season, Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue has been in a rough spot trying to make do with his team.
The Clippers are currently in the No. 8 spot and should at least make the play-in tournament, regardless of the status of Leonard and George. There's still hope that both stars will be back, but nothing is guaranteed and that could impact the strategy ahead of the trade deadline. For a squad ready that was hopefully ready for a championship run, this could wind up being a lost season.
2. Struggling offense
The Clippers' defense is still doing some great work despite the injuries. Right now, they're the fifth-ranked defense in the league in terms of defensive rating. They don't allow many free throws, as well as allowing the 10th-fewest points per game. Even with their defensive leaders out, the Clippers are still performing at a high level on that end, which is a testament to Tyronn Lue's coaching.
But after being rated as the fourth-best offense in the entire league last season, they're currently 27th in offensive rating. Now, being without Leonard and George is obviously the biggest factor here, but it was also a struggle for the team before George got hurt.
A deeper dive into numbers tells us a more detailed story. After historically good 3-point shooting last season (41.1%), LA has regressed in that area to merely solid (35.7%). The Clippers also don't get to the line all that much, ranking 28th in free throw attempts per game. Not getting those extra points from beyond the arc and at the charity stripe is a problem, and they also don't create extra opportunities on the boards.
Of course, this should improve when George and Leonard come back, assuming they do. However, there's a chance that this will all too little, too late. Perhaps those superstars come back and lead the Clippers on a big run, but that would be a lot to expect after such long-term absences.
