HOUSTON — New Clippers guard Darius Garland stood a few feet away from the bench in street clothes attempting to blend in with the group, while coaches urged the players to keep pace with a Rockets team that was struggling out of the gates. A few minutes later, Garland shuffled over behind the stanchion, watching his team play while being interviewed by a sideline reporter. On both occasions, both during the first-quarter timeout and after, Garland’s focus was on everything happening in front of him.
The 26-year-old isn’t an imposing figure by any means; he is soft-spoken and mild-mannered by nature. But his presence could be felt. Garland represents a number of things for the new-look Clippers — the departures of James Harden and Ivica Zubac, the dismantling of one of the NBA’s hottest teams and a paradigm shift for the franchise.
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“It’s not easy,” veteran Nic Batum told Yahoo Sports after the team’s 102-95 loss. “Especially when you trade away big pieces. But the thing we got back is pretty huge as well. You still gotta do your job, but it’s going to be an adjustment for sure.”
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Tuesday evening’s setting painted a quiet picture against the backdrop of a rather noisy trade deadline and season overall. The coming weeks and months — with the Clippers still under league investigation for possible cap circumvention related to Kawhi Leonard — could prove pivotal for the future course of the franchise. And over the next few days, the entire basketball world will convene at Intuit Dome for All-Star Weekend, once again thrusting this franchise into the national spotlight.
But at least for now, in the eye of the storm, basketball is their focus.
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“We love to hoop,” Leonard said with a rare smile after a 19-point fourth quarter in a 105-102 win over the Rockets on Wednesday on the second night of a back-to-back in Houston. “Guys kept their heads in the game and they wanted to compete and that’s what we did. … Every win is important for us whoever we’re playing, because of the seed we’re in right now. We’ve got to move up in the rankings, try to get out of the play-in. That’s our season for us.”
Leonard’s heroics (he finished the game with 27 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals) pushed the Clippers to an impressive 3-1 record since the Feb. 5 trade deadline — a period that was supposed to mark a pivot away from previous outside expectations. Back-to-backs against the same opponent on the road are a rarity in the NBA schedule, but they allow for a team to reinforce their immediate goals. For Lue, a championship-winning coach with over 15 years of experience, roster turnover isn’t a foreign concept, and his objectives won’t change because of who is or isn’t taking the floor.
“Just gotta get a feel for what the new guys do,” Lue said. “How they play, try to let them be themselves in the confines of what we do offensively and defensively. … Our expectations are still to win and win at a high level. Come out and compete every single night and play hard. No matter who’s on the floor.”
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In terms of the new-look personnel — inserting Brook Lopez and Derrick Jones Jr. (and Kris Dunn, until Garland returns) — Los Angeles’ identity is being carved out on the defensive end. The Clippers sit fourth in defensive efficiency since the deadline, allowing just 107.3 points per 100 possessions. Extremely small sample size, yes, but there’s no reason to suggest a major dropoff at that end of the floor as the Dunn-Jones-Leonard-John Collins-Lopez group adds more games under its belt. It’s everything you could ask for in a lockdown lineup; Dunn as a physical point of attack defender; Jones and Collins as athletic passing lane disruptors; Lopez as the backline and Leonard as the end-all, be-all versatile irritant. They’re causing havoc at all levels, generating turnovers on nearly 20% of opponent possessions. The Clippers forced 39 Rockets turnovers in 48 hours. They’re pesky, annoying and in your face.
“We’re able to blitz and cause chaos,” Lue said. “Shoot the gap for steals, turn them over and get out in transition. Being physical and into bodies, protecting the paint and understanding the gameplan. When we turn teams over, we’re a different team.”
There’s a lot to be desired offensively, though. Nothing is ever guaranteed from one season to another in this league, but in the blink of an eye, the Clippers went from an emerging offensive juggernaut to this, with all due respect. A healthy Garland should help with more juice in pick-and-rolls and optimal shot creation for teammates. Bennedict Mathurin, who was part of the trade that sent Zubac to Indiana, also gives the Clippers another shot-creator, in addition to being a solid point-of-attack defender.
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But the lone constant, Kawhi, is still pretty damn good. Leonard is having a renaissance campaign, the fifth-most impactful player per 100 possessions, according to the LEBRON metric, behind Nikola Jokić, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama and Cade Cunningham — MVP candidates. Leonard is quietly posting an absurd 28/6/4 statline on the cusp of a 50-40-90 year. According to Stathead, Leonard is the only player in the NBA with those averages on that efficiency — not to mention a .619 true shooting percentage. There were reports circulating that teams made calls about his availability after the departures of Harden and Zubac but were quickly shut down. Even at 34, he’s shown to be a bonafide go-to scorer, lockdown defender and closer.
Who knows what the Clippers’ immediate future looks like with a Leonard-Garland pairing. The decision to move on from Harden isn’t without risk, even if Los Angeles obtained a younger player who hasn’t reached his prime yet. Will this move prove to be a domino effect in attracting more talent? Again, we’re still talking about the team that sent a future Hall of Famer home in the middle of a road trip and hasn’t received a verdict on alleged financial wrongdoings.
There’s a lot going on in Clipperland right now, which makes the upcoming All-Star Weekend that much more interesting.
