LA Clippers: 2 players who’ve looked better than expected
By Evan Desai
Entering the season, the LA Clippers didn’t have tons of questions as to how good their roster was in general.
They did, however, have questions as to how well their roster could perform with the injuries they were coming into the season with. Kawhi Leonard is going to be out for an extended period of time, and so is Jason Preston. Serge Ibaka still hasn’t played yet, and all of Marcus Morris Sr., Nicolas Batum, and Keon Johnson have missed time.
There are two players, however, who have still impressed in one way or another, and proven that they can get it done even without their important teammates in the picture.
Paul George and Luke Kennard have been excellent in their roles for the LA Clippers.
Paul George has had an underrated season so far for the LA Clippers, and Luke Kennard is getting it done in his role.
As for PG13, he’s averaging 24 points per game, 7.8 rebounds per game, 4 assists per game, and 4 steals per game (all stats in this article are as of after the Cavaliers game). Oftentimes when George is struggling on offense this year, he’s getting it back on D. He’s playing the best defense of his career and he’s rebounding.
Four assists is a solid mark for PG, and he’s also shooting 46.4% from the field. Getting used to this type of workload will of course be a challenge, but George is handling it well.
As for Kennard, he has the best three-point percentage of core rotational players on the Clippers (45.8%), and the fourth-best field goal percentage on the team (45.7%). The only three ahead of him are George, and two centers who aren’t taking jump shots as much as Kennard. It goes to show that Kennard has been the best shooter on the team.
The only non-center shooting better than him from the field is of course George, but Kennard’s three-point percentage is 15 percent higher than PG’s. Kennard’s averaging 11.5 points per game, which is the second-most he ever has in his career. This time, however, he’s doing it without starting and only playing 26 minutes per game.
Next. LeBron taunting LAC is embarrassing. dark
These two guys have been some bright spots for the Clippers this season, and look to try to keep the Clippers afloat without many key players playing for our team.