The All-star break: a time of celebration, rest, and most importantly, a sign of the impending ramp up into the final stretch of the season. For the Clippers, it also represented the end of one of the toughest schedule stretches for any team in the NBA.
And the Clippers, who survived that stretch and emerged just one game under .500, is in about as good a shape as can be expected, given the circumstances. With Kawhi Leonard sidelined, likely for the season, with the medical team still waiting for Paul George’s MRI results for an MCL injury that has kept him out since mid December, and with Norman Powell joining them on the injury roster, indefinitely, a combination of stellar coaching by Ty Lue and an embracing of the “Next Man Up” mentality from the rest of the roster have kept their playoff hopes alive.