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The Los Angeles Clippers have done all they can do at and around the trade deadline to set up a run at the NBA title. Reggie Jackson, Luke Kennard, and John Wall are out, while Bones Hyland, Eric Gordon, and Mason Plumlee are in. Now, a Russell Westbrook-Clippers union is on the horizon, but unfortunately for LA, Westbrook is not the missing piece for Clippers’ championship hopes.
3. Russell Westbrook will take time away from Terance Mann
At the 2023 All-Star break, the LA Clippers sit in fourth place in the Western Conference with a 33-28 record. That’s three games in the loss column behind the Sacramento Kings and just a half-game ahead of the fifth-place Phoenix Suns.
One of the big reasons for this success is the emergence of Terance Mann this season. The 26-year-old guard is running the point for the Clippers of late and is averaging 9.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.0 3-point makes per game. However, in the six games leading up to the break, Mann is at 16.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.8 3-pointers per game.
Most importantly, Mann is averaging just 1.0 turnovers per game. Russell Westbrook’s numbers are better across the board, but he’s also turning the ball over 3.5 times per game.
This two-guard playing point is working well for the team right now, as the Clippers have won 10 of their last 14 games. Westbrook will take minutes away from this rotation that is working and now also includes Bones Hyland, and that’s not a winning recipe.
2. He doesn’t help the Clippers on defense
When the Clipper brought in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, one of the big selling points is that the team now had two of the best wing defenders in the league. And when they are on the court together, the Clippers' defense is excellent.
LA does need more scoring help, as their 111.4 points per game are 27th in the NBA. However, they can’t get by sacrificing too much defense. The Clippers are fourth in the league right now, allowing just 111.1 points per game. This positive point differential is the reason that the franchise is in a solid playoff spot right now.
Westbrook has a negative boxed plus-minus this season and has for the past two seasons. His off-ball defense specifically is not great, and that will hurt the team on that side of the ball.
Maybe Westbrook can step up his offensive game playing with Leonard and George so much that the defense won’t matter as much, but the more likely outcome is that a Russell Westbrook-Clippers marriage hurts the team on defense to the point where it’s a problem.
And a lack of defensive effort in the regular season is one thing, but if Westbrook struggles on that side of the floor during the playoffs, it could spell doom for LA.
If the first step toward a Clippers championship run is a 4-5 matchup with the Suns, Westbrook’s defense will be a major issue. In that scenario, he’ll have to guard Chris Paul or Devin Booker, and neither of those matchups will go well or lead to an NBA title.
1. Westbrook isn’t a doctor or a time traveler
There are several basketball-related reasons why a Russell Westbrook-Clippers marriage won’t result in an NBA title for the team. But let’s be honest. The Clippers’ championship hopes don’t rest on a 34-year-old Russell Westbrook.
Whether or not the Clippers hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy in 2023 comes down to the individual efforts (and health) of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
Leonard (31) and George (32) are getting up there in years as well, and neither is an everyday player anymore. George has missed 17 games already this season, and Leonard has sat out 27.
And even if these two go into multiple playoff series at full health, can their talent still compete with the best teams in the NBA?
In the West, the Clippers' championship hopes rest on running the gamut against (right now) Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton, and the Suns, Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr. and the Denver Nuggets, and Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr., and the Memphis Grizzlies.
Can the LA Clippers stay healthy and raise their play to a level where they can take out those three teams in three playoff series in a row?
And if they do, can they then get to the level where they can beat Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and the Boston Celtics, or Joel Embiid, James Harden and the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA Finals?
The truth is, even if Russell Westbrook on the Clippers hits the rewind machine and goes back to 2017 Russ, LA just doesn’t have enough to survive the 2023 NBA gauntlet and bring an NBA title back to the red, white, and blue side of Los Angeles.
