The 2023-24 season starts with the Los Angeles Clippers not impressing, but they are quietly pushing their way to challenge the top teams in the NBA.
In this Clippers team, two-time champion Leonard is undoubtedly the brightest star. Since the start of the season, he has been playing at a high level, which is amazing. Mark Medina, a well-known reporter for the NBA, even lamented that Leonard's stats are so amazing that they simply surpass the setting of NBA2K games, which is unbelievable.
Strong performance from the Clippers
The Clippers didn't get off to a smooth start. In the first five games of the 2023-24 season, they brought in James Harden from the Philadelphia 76ers, and the superstar's arrival has raised questions about whether he will be able to integrate with the rest of the team.
After Harden's debut, the Clippers suffered a six-game losing streak, which made their situation even tougher. However, the Clippers didn't give up, and they gradually found their rhythm in the Western Conference to try to seal a playoff spot at the end of the regular season.
Especially in the last 16 games, the Los Angeles team has shown strong strength. They proved that the team's chemistry was fully activated, and in that time, they recorded a 14-2 record.
Their two defeats weren't worthless, either, as they lost to two championship favourites in the East and West – the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder.
The following table shows the statistics of the last 16 games of the Clippers.
| project | data | League rankings |
| score | 122.2 | 5th place |
| The opponent scores | 115.4 | 12th place |
| Offensive efficiency | 123.9 | 3rd place |
| Defensive efficiency | 117.0 | 18th place |
| Net efficiency | 6.8 | 6th place |
| Effective shooting percentage | 59.7 | 1st place |
The Clippers' starting lineup consists of Harden, Leonard, Zubac, Mann and George, while Westbrook serves as the leader of the bench. The Clippers have a +4.8 winning average over the season, which ranks sixth in the league.
It's worth mentioning that the Clippers' starting five have outplayed their opponents by 16.6 points per 100 possessions in the 260 minutes they have played together, which is the third-best record of any team with more than 250 minutes played by a five-man group so far this season.
That's thanks in large part to their excellent offense, which has an offensive efficiency of 118.3, which is the second-best of any team in the West behind the Thunder's 119.5.
The Clippers have been known for their three-point shooting since the Leonard-George era, and that advantage has been further strengthened with the addition of long-range shooter Harden.
Currently, Los Angeles is the top three teams in three-point shooting, shooting 38.5 percent from three-point range, just behind the Thunder (39.7 percent) and Miami Heat (38.8 percent).
Based on their recent performances, the Clippers have moved up to fifth place in the NBA's latest power rankings, behind the Celtics and Thunder, as well as the top seeds in the West, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the defending champion Denver Nuggets.
Leonard's fiery form
There's no doubt that Leonard is one of the best players in the entire NBA, but it's not hard to see from the stats that Leonard was on a hot sheet in December.
| data | November | December |
| score | 22.6 | 29.3 |
| backboard | 5.8 | 6.0 |
| Assisting | 2.9 | 4.1 |
| True hit rate | 58.0 | 73.2 |
| Player Impact Assessment | 14.3 | 18.2 |
| Utilization | 25.3 | 25.9 |
After digging deeper into Leonard's stats, we find an interesting phenomenon: his scoring growth is not due to a surge in shots, in fact, his shots are basically the same as in previous years.
Leonard's scoring climb is due to the fact that he has more open shots in the game, and these valuable opportunities are largely due to Harden, who is the team's core ball handler and creates many ideal shooting spaces for Leonard.
Leonard was a standout performer in November, averaging 22.6 points per game while shooting 48.2 percent from the field and 36.5 percent from three-point range. However, in December, Leonard's form was even hotter, hitting the stats of 2K games.
In December, the five-time All-Star averaged 29.3 points per game, sixth in the league, and shot 61.3 percent per game, second in the league, behind the Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo, who shot 61.8 percent from the field, just ahead of Leonard. In addition, the 32-year-old Leonard averaged 5.3 three-pointers per game and shot a whopping 50.0 percent, which was the third-highest among players who averaged more than four three-pointers per game that month.
Perhaps the most striking thing, though, was Leonard's dramatic improvement in true shooting percentage between November and December. Although he averaged 17 shots per game in both months, he shot a staggering 73.2 percent from the field in December, second only to Mitchell Robinson of the New York Knicks in the league.
It's worth mentioning that Robinson played in just four games in December due to a season-reimbursed injury, while Leonard played in nine. In addition, Robinson's usage rate is only 9.1%, compared to Leonard's whopping 25.9% usage.
Leonard played in 29 of the Clippers' first 34 games, and it looks like he's on his way to one of his healthiest seasons in recent years. As long as Leonard is on the court, the Clippers have a good chance of continuing their incredible winning streak and they have a chance to make a breakthrough in the West.
Of course, the health and playing issues that plagued Leonard in the past are still concerning. But luckily, even if he's sidelined, the Clippers can still count on the strength of George, Harden and Westbrook. However, fans are undoubtedly praying that the shadow of history will not loom over the star again.
It remains to be seen whether Leonard will be able to sustain the high level of performance he did in December, but it is undeniable that the Clippers have shown a strong roster that is full of chemistry and complements the stars. At least for now, they don't seem to have a ceiling.
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