Ranking LAC’s Kawhi Leonard and Paul George duo with the rest of the NBA
No. 2 duo in the NBA: Kevin Durant and James Harden
Kevin Durant and James Harden are considered by many to be the top duo in the NBA, and I get it. However, they exited in the second round of the playoffs.
Was Harden healthy? No, he wasn’t, and neither was Kyrie Irving. However, Kawhi Leonard was out when the Clippers were tied at 2-2 for the second round of the playoffs and LA won.
While Harden was hurt, I struggle with naming them number one when he was still on the floor, and KD was fully healthy. Read my number one duo below for more on that.
No. 1 duo in the NBA: Kawhi Leonard and Paul George
The best member of this duo was hurt in the Semis, and completely out after the series went 2-2 (unlike Harden who was still healthy enough to play). PG held it down, and the Clippers overcame the adversity.
The Nets, who at least had both members of their star duo on the floor, couldn’t get it done. And I get that Kyrie was hurt, but the Clippers had a ton of injuries all year themselves.
Here’s an excerpt from a previous story of mine:
"“Leonard missed 20 regular season games, Paul George was out for 18, Patrick Beverley missed 35, Marcus Morris went out for 15, and Ibaka was hurt for 31.”"
The Clippers had a heck of a time trying to gain chemistry with their team all year. Then without Kawhi Leonard, Serge Ibaka, and Ivica Zubac, the team still took the Suns to six games in the Conference Finals. The Nets couldn’t even get there.
Brooklyn has an amazing duo, but it doesn’t quite stack up to the Clips.