The LA Clippers have played 41 games and with 41 more ahead of them before playoffs, we grade the team thus far and look towards the future.
Ryan Snellings: Okay, thanks for joining! With last night’s victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers, the LA Clippers are officially at the halfway point in the season. Today, we are going to grade the guys and talk about what you want to see the rest of the season! Let’s start with the two superstars, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
How would you grade them through 41 games?
Seth Kimbrell: Kawhi Leonard, I’d give an A+. He’s everything we hoped he would be; he scores at will, he’s won games with his defense. It’s all there. Paul George gets an Incomplete for me. I really wanna see more of him.
Leonard Saldana: Kawhi is easily to give an A, he has been able to play make while the team is figuring out its roster still. He has a switch where he can take it up another level and it looks like with health he’s able to flip it at will and that’s just incredible to see when it happens.
Adrian Rivera: I agree with Seth, Kawhi is an A+ so far this season. He has been the ultimate leader and it clearly shows on the court. Managing his injury at the same time and on track to play fewer minutes than most stars is the perfect formula.
LS: George is a top player in this league and while he has missed time, the time he’s played has been a solid B, he is still working back from those surgeries and minor hamstring issues.
AR: As for Paul George, I would have to consider him in the B range. A Solid B is right on the nose, with what Leo is saying. Definitely room for improvement, but health is the priority right now. George is a scorer and a shooter, so even if his numbers are not always there, his threat is very essential to the Clippers offense.
Cannon Wonderlich: I’d give Kawhi Leonard and A. I think we’ve gotten what we would expect out of him. His 3-point percentage has picked up from the start of the season and I have no gripes with him at all.
Matthew Chong: I agree, Kawhi is an easy A. I hesitate to say that he’s been absolutely perfect (though certainly close) because there have definitely been times when effort waned or he was simply in a shooting slump. But I don’t want that to take away at all from how awesome he’s been for us. Kawhi has absolutely been as-advertised.
Paul George, I’d say, is just below Kawhi with an A-. There have been times when he’s slumped as well, and he’s been working through the effects of his shoulder surgeries, but his defense has been there for the most part and he’s still shooting 39.5% from three on just over nine attempts per game. That alone has provided a huge lift for the Clippers when he’s been available. I expect he’ll continue to improve as far as attacking the rim goes.
CW: I’m a bit low on Paul George than everyone else. He’s kind of disappointed me. He started out great, but since, he hasn’t been the second option and star we need. My judgment might be heavier on him since Danilo Gallinari and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander have both been phenomenal for OKC.
LS: Paul has careless turnovers that stand out, that’s more why I put the B plus his defense could be better and he would agree.
RS: You talking those full-court heaves, Leo? I did not miss them last night.
SK: PG has definitely had flashes of brilliance, and if I had to guess I would say we start to see more of those as the season progresses. This dude had double shoulder surgery and is still working his way back from that. That said, there’s definitely a bunch of room for improvement from him. But as Matt said, the shooting is still there, which is huge.
AR: I think the main component with George is adjusting to his surgeries and injuries. I feel like it has not gone as smoothly as he had hoped. Getting into his rhythm consistently, but the main thing I have noticed is the turnovers.
MC: There have definitely been some careless ones, but I chalk up a lot of the turnovers to a lack of chemistry. He doesn’t have the benefit of spending the summer playing with any of his current teammates, so this isn’t too surprising
AR: Fortunately, they are usually little mistakes that can be corrected throughout the season
LS: He’s just careless and lazy with the ball and he’s smarter than that. But, no one is perfect so hopefully, those heaves stop haha. He’s not Kevin love with those full-court passes.
CW: For sure, Adrian. I’m confident he will turn it around and be at least 85 percent of what he was for OKC last season.