At present, the training camps of each team in the new season have been opened one after another, and in the case of the return of Crawy Leonard and Paul George in the new season, the paper lineup of the Los Angeles Clippers is extremely luxurious, but the competition within the team will be very fierce, and every player will want to get more playing time and even compete for the starting position. How to make a good trade-off is also a question that the Clippers coaching staff needs to think about repeatedly.
While the new season has not yet begun, the local media has also predicted the starting lineups of various teams, and in the Los Angeles Clippers, John Wall, who joined after reaching a buyout agreement with the Rockets this summer, will play alongside Crawy Leonard and Paul George as the starting point guard for the new season for the Clippers. The other two starting positions of the Clippers, the media forecast will belong to the veteran Nicholas Batum and the interior blue-collar Zubac, in addition, the Clippers' bench depth can be said to be the best in the league, the media believes that Reggie Jackson, Norman Powell, Marcus Morris, Luke Kennard, Robert Covington and Terence Mann may become the super sixth man, which shows that the strength of the Clippers players is very close.
Due to injuries, Kawhi Leonard was reimbursed for the whole year last season, but in fact, he basically recovered from the closing stage, but the Clippers knew that there was no hope of winning the title last season, so they simply let Kawhi Leonard continue to truce. Before the injury, Kawhi Leonard was like a god in the 20-21 season playoffs, he could average an astonishing 30.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game, shooting 57% from the field and 39% from three-point range. It's just that Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers to reverse the Lone Ranger and then fell, no wonder everyone said they were lose-lose, the Lone Ranger was tragically attacked by the first round of the tour, and the Clippers also suffered heavy damage although they crossed the risk.
Paul George, the second boss of the Clippers, was also hit by injuries last season, and he played a total of 30 games, which obviously also had a huge impact on the Clippers. However, in a healthy state, Paul George is in excellent shape, averaging 24.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 2.1 steals per game, carrying the Clippers all the way forward, including his assists to a career high, second only to the Thunder in the 18-19 season. Now Paul George is only 32 years old, let alone the end of the peak, he and Kawhi Leonard are both offensive and defensive superstars, and they are also the biggest guarantee on the Clippers' road to the championship.
John Wall, the former number one point guard in the East, fell to the bottom in recent years because of a serious injury to a torn Achilles tendon. But in the 20-21 season, John Wall averaged 20.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game, and his assists and defensive ability are still higher than the league average. The Clippers have been lacking a reliable on-court commander in recent years, and even if John Wall recovers to the peak level of 80%, it is enough to become a powerful helper around the Gemini.
Nicholas Batum's wind evaluation, after joining the Clippers has changed dramatically, originally during the Hornets, because Nicholas Batum held a top salary contract, the performance on the court was difficult to say, and even put on the bench, the outside world did not hope for him. But after reaching a buyout deal with the Hornets, Nicholas Batum, who came to the Clippers, ushered in the second spring of his career, especially as a small-ball center role, even if he averaged 8.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1 steal last season, and his three-point shooting rate exceeded 40%. Don't look at Nicholas Batum entering the twilight of his career, his long arms, comprehensiveness and experience will still play an important role in the Clippers system.
Zubac is a controversial player, he often butters on the offensive end, the defense is due to slow pace led to the star guard named military training, those two years the Clippers against the Lone Ranger, as long as Luca Doncic is present, the Clippers were forced to replace Zubac. But if you think he is useless, it is obviously very inappropriate, Zubac still averaged 10.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1 block per game last season, shooting more than 60% of the time, and Zubac's annual salary is only $7 million, so there is no problem in being a pseudo-starter.
The Clippers' bench depth has always been an advantage, and the original bench lineup of Luis Williams and Monterrez Harrell has not been left behind in the first place of many teams. Now the Clippers have continued this traditional advantage, they have two strong players in each position, and the coaching staff can easily line up a rotation of about 10-12 people. Among them, Marcus Morris, Reggie Jackson and Robert Covington and other veterans who have been in the league for a long time, and fresh forces such as Terrance Mann, Luke Kennard and Kofi can also provide vitality, and the depth of the Clippers' roster is really enviable, and I am afraid that no team can compete with them in the whole league.