The LA Clippers are coming off a disappointing first-round loss that capped yet another injury-riddled campaign. When the team was whole, they had spurts where they looked like the best in the league. The on-paper talent of this team was rivaled only by the Boston Celtics.
But like paper, the Clippers’ stars proved vulnerable to ripping and tearing. Kawhi Leonard only played in two playoff games; Paul George didn’t play in any at all. Many supporting characters missed chunks of games throughout the season. The Clippers did end up holding onto the fifth seed, but they were just a handful of games out of the play-in, and only stole one victory off the Suns in Round 1.