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With the 2019-20 NBA campaign getting set to restart (at least right now) at Disney World, the Los Angeles Clippers will resume their position as one of the league's championship favorites.
Some feel that there are really only three teams that can legitimately win a title this year, an the Clippers are one of them (the other two being the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks).
With a star-studded cast led by Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, it's no surprise that Los Angeles is at or near the top of most people's lists.
So, here are the three biggest questions for the Clippers going into Orlando:
3. Do they have enough size up front?
Probably the biggest question for the Clippers heading into this season was whether or not they had the size to contend with bigs like Anthony Davis out West.
It has not been much of an issue for the Clips thus far, as they have bested the Lakers in two of their three regular-season meetings and haven't had much difficulty defending any other frontlines, but these types of problems tend to get magnified in the playoffs.
Ivica Zubac is currently LA's starting center, and while he is talented offensively, he doesn't offer much in the way of defense. The Clippers did sign Joakim Noah just before the league was suspended, but how much he has left in the tank remains to be seen.
All in all, I'm sure Los Angeles will be just fine, but this is an issue that may end up manifesting itself at some point.
2. How healthy is Paul George?
When the Clippers swung a trade to acquire Paul George last summer, they knew the deal.
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The All-Star forward was recovering from dual shoulder surgeries and was set to miss the early stages of the 2019-20 campaign, and once he returned, Los Angeles understood it might take some time for him to regain his sea legs.
While George looked just fine in his return, he has struggled with some little nicks and bruises since, including a hamstring injury he suffered just before the All-Star break.
George's performance has been rather up and down ever since, and given how much the 30-year-old has been dinged up over the years (not counting his gruesome leg injury during the summer of 2014), his health is worth mentioning.
I believe that George will be perfectly okay, and this long layoff was actually probably good for him. But again, it's a talking point that may surface once the season reopens.
1. How much will Kawhi Leonard need to do?
During last year's postseason, Leonard was everything for the Toronto Raptors. Yes, the Raptors had Pascal Siakam and some wily veterans like Kyle Lowry and Marc Gasol, but the club still leaned heavily on Leonard on both ends.
This Clippers squad is quite a bit more talented than that Raptors team. Not only is George on the roster, but Los Angeles has Lou Williams, Marcus Morris, Patrick Beverley, Montrezl Harrell and others.
So, just how much will Leonard need to do in the playoffs to lead LA to a title? Will he have as much responsibility as he had last spring? Or will George and Co. significantly lessen Kawhi's burden?
Leonard is arguably the best player in the NBA, so he can handle a heavy workload. It would just be better if he didn't have to do that.
