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Great ex-NBA Head Coach blasts LA Clippers in rant about LA basketball

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 15: George Karl of the Sacramento Kings during the basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center March 15, 2016, in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using the photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 15: George Karl of the Sacramento Kings during the basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center March 15, 2016, in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using the photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Right now, neither the LA Clippers nor the Los Angeles Lakers are getting the job done in the NBA.

The Lakers trade for Russell Westbrook has gone as terribly as I said it would, and they’re apparently now trying to trade him already. Coming into Tuesday, they were a play-in team, holding the seventh seed at 16-15.

The Clippers, however, aren’t playing inspiring basketball without their franchise player in Kawhi Leonard, and also sat at 16-15. The Clips hold the tie-breaker and own the sixth seed, but they haven’t realistically been all that much better so far. Not many are falling for the hype that comes with playing in Los Angeles, and the outstanding ex-NBA Head Coach George Karl isn’t buying it himself.

On Tuesday, he sounded off on how he really feels about the LA basketball scene:

There is some truth to George Karl’s rant about the LA Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers.

Here’s where George Karl is right about the LA Clippers:

They aren’t contenders as of right now. A 16-15 team is not competing with either of the 24-5 Phoenix Suns, or the 25-6 Golden State Warriors. Now, the Clips just beat the Suns, but it looks like a bit of a fluke when taking a look at what’s transpired afterwards.

And there’s no true such thing as a fluke in the National Basketball Association, but it’s true that the Clips responded to their victory against the Suns by getting blown out by the Utah Jazz, and somehow losing to the awful Oklahoma City Thunder and the awful San Antonio Spurs.

Paul George was even back for that Spurs game. What Karl failed to address, however, is the fact that Kawhi Leonard is ahead of schedule in his partially torn ACL rehab according to Farbod Esnaashari of Sports Illustrated.

I’m not saying that what Karl said was false, or that he needed to mention Kawhi, but I’m just pointing out that it’s an important piece to the puzzle, and worth remembering. Leonard is arguably one of the top two players in basketball when healthy. He’s won two championships in this league, destroying two of the greatest dynasties in basketball history in those runs.

Winning the NBA Finals MVP in both those series, Leonard has that championship moxie. Once he returns to the team, the Clippers could easily find themselves as contenders.

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