Unlikely heroes forging the Los Angeles Clippers’ path to the playoffs

Without one true leader, the Los Angeles Clippers are proving that you don’t need a superstar to be successful in today’s NBA.

Let’s get this out of the way first: the Western Conference is a complete disaster. With just one week remaining of the NBA’s regular season, only three teams have clinched playoff berths — while seven hungry teams fight to the death for the final five spots. No one is safe.

There’s a common similarity between teams seeded four through nine, though. They all have at least one, single, go-to player.

The Utah Jazz have Donovan Mitchell, a 21-year-old rookie that’s averaging 20+ points per game. The San Antonio Spurs have LaMarcus Aldridge, who has been vital in their late-season turnaround. The Oklahoma City Thunder have an abundance of stars, as do the Minnesota Timberwolves. The New Orleans Pelicans have Anthony Davis, the most dominant player we’ve seen in years. And while the Denver Nuggets are a little more ragtag than the rest of the bunch, they’ve still got a potential superstar in Nikola Jokic.

That just leaves the Los Angeles Clippers, who, without Blake Griffin and Chris Paul, have found their identity in an unlikely group of players.

In their victory over the Spurs on Tuesday night, the Clippers were led by Tobias Harris, Lou Williams, Austin Rivers, and Montrezl Harrell. Crazy as that may sound, it’s not unusual. It’s the way it’s been ever since the trade deadline passed.

Those four scored all but five of the Clippers’ 41 fourth-quarter points, coming back after once facing a 19-point deficit. Rivers hit a go-ahead three pointer with 29 seconds left, eventually vaulting Los Angeles to a much-needed 113-110 victory.

But like I said, that’s not unusual. Each of those four are in the midst of career seasons with the Clippers, each embracing the “next man up” mentality on a team hit hard by injuries.

Harris may really be one of the NBA’s most underrated players, as much as I dislike using the term.  He isn’t flashy, so he doesn’t get a lot of media attention. He’s also only ever played in small markets before now, like Milwaukee, Orlando, and Detroit. He just plays good, fundamental basketball, and he’s got a real sweet stroke. As a Clipper, he’s scoring a career-best 19.9 points per game and connecting on nearly 42% of his triples.

Harris is continually a matchup nightmare as well, given his 6’9″, 235-pound frame and ability to play both forward positions. He regularly dominates defenders, and even still, there’s a lot of untapped potential in him that we’re beginning to see.

Williams has locked up the Sixth Man of the Year Award, averaging a career-high 21.9 points in 58 games off the bench this season. In addition, he’s averaged 24.9 points in 19 games as a starter. He’s been virtually unstoppable.

Sweet Lou has gone for 40 or more points on four occasions this year, including a 50-point performance in the Clippers’ first regular season win over the Golden State Warriors since December 25, 2014. In addition, it was the Clippers’ first regular season road win over the Warriors in almost seven years. Initially viewed solely as a trade asset by fans, Los Angeles have since inked Williams for another three seasons.

Rivers, now 25 and making vast improvements every season, is still getting hate from every NBA fanbase. Hell-bent on silencing his critics, he’s putting together his most impressive campaign to date. Highlighted by a 36-point performance against the Rockets, he’s making it hard to argue against the case he’s making for being a legitimate starter.

Harrell has been on a whole other level, specifically in the second half of the season. Since February, he’s putting up 14.8 points and 4.4 rebounds in just 19.9 minutes per game. In addition, he’s shot 69.4% from the floor during that same stretch.

I could go on all day about these guys, but what you really need to understand is that down the stretch, these are the guys that Doc Rivers sends in. In close games, in the waning minutes of quarters, this is the crew. And it speaks volumes about their reputation and ability.

Entering the home stretch of the season, the Clippers must try to do the impossible. They’ll need to win out against a tough remaining schedule (@Denver, vs Utah, vs New Orleans, vs Los Angeles) and get a little help along the way.

Right now, they’re putting the rest of the West on notice. If the Clipper core can keep up this level of play and push themselves into the playoffs, there’s no telling what they might do.