The Clippers have been called old by young players (aka Minnesota Timberwolves) and among the toughest teams in the league by top-tier players. Can they be both?
As one of the older teams by age – an average of 30.4 years in their rotation – the Clippers proved in the first part of the season that age is simply a number.
Behind Paul George, 34, Kawhi Leonard, 33, and James Harden, 34, with significant contributions from 35-year-old Russell Westbrook, the Clippers have risen to the top of the Western Conference. With a record of 36-17 at the All-Star break, the Clippers own the third-best record in the conference, two games behind the Timberwolves and a half-game behind the Oklahoma City Thunder.
And with a victory Thursday at the Thunder (37-17), the Clippers could find themselves staring up at only the Timberwolves as the final march to the playoffs begins.
“(The toughest part) is not looking too far ahead,” George told Clutch Sports at the All-Star Game. “With 30 games, just not looking too far ahead, taking it one game at a time. Because that’s what you tend to do in the second half of the season. You start to look ahead and look forward to the playoffs and just try to get to the playoffs. But we just gotta take it one game at a time.”
Despite their imposing play this season in which they are averaging 118.3 points a game and stringing together winning streaks, George said their success is tied more closely to their six-game losing streak earlier.
After a promising start to the season, the Clippers took a downward turn after acquiring Harden and naysayers wondered aloud if the controversial point guard would fit in as their record dropped to 3-7.
“We knew we couldn’t get worse from there,” George said. “We’re going to get better, and we knew once we started to win, things would start to click. So, without that, I don’t think we go on a 33-10 stretch or whatever that stretch looks like. I don’t think we go on that run without…
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