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The Los Angeles Clippers recently concluded their 2020-21 campaign with an appearance in the Western Conference Finals for the first time in franchise history. Despite going far in the playoffs, Tyronn Lue and his men still fell to the Phoenix Suns as they absorbed a 4-2 series loss to ultimately miss out on the NBA Finals.
Indeed, a busy offseason is definitely on the horizon for the Clippers after falling short of reaching the championship stage for the first time. However, the team still failed to address their biggest need as they missed out on getting a reliable big man who can get loose balls and block shots for them moving forward.
Clippers Free Agency
Looking back, the Clippers landed on the bottom half of the league in terms of rebounding with an average of 44.2 rebounds per game in the regular season, per NBA.com. Their inability to grab boards was further exposed in their playoff series against the Suns where they were outrebounded by their opponents in five of six total games.
The absence of their top rebounding big man in Ivica Zubac was a big hit to the team as he needed to sit out both Games 5 and 6 due to an MCL sprain. Veteran forward Serge Ibaka also failed to see action after the first round of the playoffs since he had to get surgery to fix his back issue. Not to mention that Kawhi Leonard, who averaged 6.5 rebounds last season, was also sidelined all throughout their series against the Suns due to a partial ACL tear in his right knee.
Aside from rebounding, their lack of a significant presence in the paint to play alongside Zubac was exposed when they encountered Deandre Ayton in the Western Conference Finals. The Bahamian center imposed his will in that particular series as he averaged 17.8 points on an efficient 69.3% clip from the field. Having a reliable player who is capable of banging bodies and keeping up with the athleticism of Ayton could've made a huge difference for the Clippers.
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Given how the team was plagued by injury, they could've gotten a better chance at reaching the NBA Finals if they only had better depth in their frontline rotation. Despite having a glaring hole in the middle, the team still chose to prioritize their guards and forwards as they extended Leonard, Reggie Jackson, Nicolas Batum, and acquired a new talent in Justise Winslow in free agency.
Yes, Ibaka recently exercised his player option to stay with the team for another season but the Clippers will have to make more moves if they want to get better at rebounding in 2021-22. The team also failed to nab notable free agents like JaVale McGee, Andre Drummond, Richaun Holmes, or even Daniel Theis who are all capable of providing help in the paint in some way or another.
Additionally, they have yet to offer a new contract to Demarcus Cousins who was signed towards the latter end of the 2020-21 regular season. He only saw limited action in Los Angeles but was still able to make the most out of his limited minutes with averages of 7.8 points and 4.5 rebounds in 16 appearances.
Certainly enough, the four-time All-Star is only a shell of his former self but the Clippers might receive a better level of contribution from him if he will be given a full season to play with the team.
As of the moment, all is not yet lost on the Clippers but time is definitely ticking for them to make significant moves. If they fail to make an acquisition to address their lack of another rebounding big then they will only have to hope that their current front liners won't get hurt for the most part of next season.
