Clippers can be as good without Paul George

For the first time since pairing Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in 2019, the LA Clippers will enter an NBA season with zero championship expectations from the outside. On the inside, expectations are just as high as ever, and they see this as an opportunity to prove people wrong.

Paul George is gone, and so is Russell Westbrook, but they have brought in some new faces to help fill the gaps. The players who were already on the roster will take on expanded roles, and George’s remaining touches will be dispersed among the new additions.

Kris Dunn and Mo Bamba can give the team some quality minutes off the bench, but Derrick Jones Jr. and Kevin Porter Jr. will be the two most impactful acquisitions.

Batum Battalion Assemble ???? pic.twitter.com/U9ZuxritYU

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) October 3, 2024

Jones is fresh off an NBA Finals appearance with the Dallas Mavericks, where he scored over nine points per game in the playoffs. He is a versatile defender with extreme athleticism (2020 Slam Dunk Contest champion) who can knock down the three-ball.

Porter is a wild card who had to play professionally in Greece last year as he dealt with off-the-court issues. He is a sneaky-good addition who averaged 19.2 points per game in the NBA when he was only 22 years old.

“I love everything that we are doing. A lot of outsiders or analysts don’t really have high expectations for us, but we have high expectations for ourselves. Me individually, I have never missed the playoffs my entire career,” said James Harden. “There have been a lot of situations with teams where we quote-unquote weren’t good enough, but we made people believe in us. I feel like this is another opportunity for that.”

Merry Clippers Eve ? pic.twitter.com/NQIUPVjovi

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) October 5, 2024

A couple of star players is all it takes to be a contender in the NBA, and LA has that. Kawhi Leonard and Harden are still capable of scoring 20 points a night, and if the rest of the team fits in well around them, the Clippers might not see much of a dropoff without George and Westbrook.

Leonard and Harden will be the primary scorers, but Norman Powell, Terance Mann, and Ivica Zubac will all carry a heavier load this year. All three are proven assets that have stepped up as the top options in recent years when the Clippers have been shorthanded, and they are ready to contribute in more consistent roles this season.

“We have a bunch of different ways to attack. We have guys who are hungry; we got younger and more athletic. I think it is a nice balance from top to bottom. I know the media like to write us off because we don’t have PG anymore, and we lost Russ,” said Powell. “I saw it as addition by subtraction. More guys get more opportunity.”

Dunk party at camp ? pic.twitter.com/WlyYPzBT7j

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) October 4, 2024

It has become hard to discuss how the Clippers will fare in a given year without mentioning Leonard’s health. He enters the year recovering from an offseason knee procedure, but Leonard is expected to be ready to go when the Clippers tip off their first game at Intuit Dome. He wants to participate in all aspects of training camp, but the team is playing it safe and holding him out.

“That is the plan. I never plan on missing games, but it is just about my body; I am a human being playing basketball. It all depends on what we want, what we figure out, and how my body is feeling, but right now, I would think it is a positive thing to think that I would play,” said Leonard on his status for game 1.

The former Finals MVP’s availability is always the most important part of every Clippers season. He is still one of the best basketball players in the world when he is on the floor, and the Clippers are a playoff team if he puts together a full season. It is a big if, but wait to count them out. LA still has the talent to compete in the Western Conference, and they will go as far as Kawhi Leonard takes them.