In the NBA regular season that ended today, the Clippers defeated the Kings 119-99 back-to-back, winning five in a row.
In this game, the Clippers were not affected by back-to-back at all, and at the most, they led the Kings by 33 points at one point.
After a wave of 5 consecutive wins, the Clippers have a record of 13 wins and 10 losses, rising to 7th in the West, and continue to catch up with the Lakers and Kings in front.
From a 5-game losing streak to a 5-game winning streak, how are the Clippers better than before?
The Clippers have won five in a row, narrowly beating the Warriors 113-112, the Nuggets 111-102, the Jazz 117-103, the Trail Blazers 132-127, and the Kings 119-99.
In this, the Warriors are not in good shape, and the Jazz and Trail Blazers are bad teams, but the victory over the Nuggets and the Kings is more golden.
In the previous 5 consecutive defeats, the Clippers' opponents were the Nuggets, Grizzlies, Mavericks, Nets, and Knicks. In contrast, an opponent with a 5-game losing streak is indeed stronger than an opponent with a 5-game winning streak, so the Clippers' 5-game winning streak does not rule out the reason for eating the schedule bonus.
During the five-game winning streak, the Clippers averaged 120.4 points per game and conceded 108.6 points per game.
During the five-game losing streak, the Clippers averaged 105 points per game and conceded 114.2 points per game.
Whether it is offense or defense, the efficiency of the Clippers has been greatly improved, mainly because of the team's run-in, which is indeed more in place.
Harden is the main organization, in fact, whether it is during the 5-game losing streak or during the 5-game winning streak, Harden's shots are not much, 10.2 and 11 respectively, but the number of assists is quite different, Harden averaged 4.2 assists per game during the 5-game losing streak, and Harden averaged 8.2 assists per game during the 5-game winning streak, almost doubled.
George is the biggest victim of Harden after he joined, during the five-game losing streak, George averaged 20.6 points, 3.2 assists and 3.4 turnovers per game, shooting 39% from the field, and during the five-game winning streak, George averaged 19.8 points, 3.8 assists and 1.6 turnovers per game, shooting 46%.
Obviously, George is adapting, but at least finding a little rhythm, and although his scoring has dropped, his shooting percentage has increased dramatically, and his turnovers have decreased a lot.
Leonard's stability, during the 5-game winning streak, Leonard averaged 28.6 points per game and shot very high, while during the 5-game winning streak, Leonard averaged only 18 points per game.
Harden and George have reduced to a certain extent, Harden is active in the mobility organization, George is still the original style of play, at least reducing the ball, and Leonard is used as an endpoint. This is the run-in method of the Clippers' Big Three.
Only if the Big Three play comfortably, the Clippers will have the potential to get more wins.
Of course, the Clippers are still not at their best.
Although the run-in of the Big Three is barely smooth, there is still a big gap from 1+1+1=3, and in addition to Leonard, the functions of Harden and George have not been fully played.
In addition, the bench lineup, the Clippers' bench lineup is still not stable enough, and it relies on Wei Shao, Powell and Theis.
A weak interior could also be a point for the Clippers to be targeted by their opponents.
Overall, the Clippers, who have won five in a row, are largely due to weak opponents, and if they want to achieve their best condition, they not only need to continue to run in, but may also need to strengthen the roster to a certain extent.