After another Kawhi Leonard setback, can the Clippers make the playoffs? | The Kevin O’Connor Show
Yahoo Sports senior NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor and NBA contributor Tom Haberstroh discuss the latest injury news around the Clippers star and how it impacts Los Angeles going into the season. Hear the full conversation on “The Kevin O’Connor Show” and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
Tom, I feel like for L A right now, you lose Paul George, you sign some role players now, you're without Kawhi Leonard, unless James Harden is gonna be turning back the clock to his MVP seasons.
There's a chance that he individually could miss the playoffs for the first time in his career.
And for the Clippers, it's looking like in this loaded Western conference that they're a favorite now to miss the play in entirely.
Is there any reason for optimism right here with the Clippers Clippers at all or are you feeling as pessimistic as I am?
This is bad vibes all around and it makes me, um, remember the column I wrote for Yahoo uh over the summer when Paul George signed with the Sixers, I was like, the NBA is a big five league now.
It's not a big three league.
And if you look at the numbers of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, they played 26 games over five seasons in the playoffs together, they just could not get healthy on the same page at the same time.
And now it's looking like the, the Clippers are, are gonna have an all time uh, terrible opening for their new arena.
And James Harden might average 30 points a game on a 20 win team.
That's what we're looking at right now.
Yeah.
And I think the issue with Harden is, you know, like, maybe Harden can turn back the clock a bit.
He was better with the Clippers to close the season than he was at any time with Philadelphia earlier in the year.
Um, and these, he looked like a better version of himself.
He's gonna have Zoo Bots as a screener.
I think that combination, like I talked about with Dan Titus on our podcast earlier in the week, there'll be potent together, but the Western conference is just so deep.
It is so strong and there's gonna be at least one good team that's gonna miss the plan, not just the playoffs, but gonna miss the plan for the Clippers here, man.
Like you're without your picks.
Um, you don't have the ability to bottom out if you want to.
It's feeling like you're just betting on James Harden and Zatz to just be domin together and that'd be enough for you to get through it until Kawhi can return at.
Who knows when it's, it's gotten even worse is that he didn't play in Paris and still he's out indefinitely, which is really, really scary for his long term prospects if this is, you know, best case scenario from this off season that he didn't go to Paris and he was rehabbing, getting ready for the season and he's still not ready.