Why 2022 will be better for the LA Clippers than 2021
By Evan Desai
The LA Clippers experienced some good times in 2021.
It wasn’t all perfect, as they still weren’t able to win the West after being picked by many as the favorites, and they’re not playing as well as we would’ve hoped for them to start this season. That being said, they still broke the curse and got to the Western Conference Finals, and would be playing much better if Kawhi Leonard was on the floor.
And that’s why 2022 will be a better year for the Clippers than 2021. We may not know exactly when Leonard will be back, but we know that he indeed will be. The latest he comes back is going to be the 2022 offseason, meaning that he’ll at least be fresh for next season.
The LA Clippers will have a better 2022 than 2021 because they will be getting multiple key players back.
The LA Clippers will be getting Kawhi Leonard and Jason Preston back from injury in 2022.
Preston had foot surgery in the offseason and was expected to miss significant time. He’ll hopefully be back sometime later this season, and Leonard is ahead of schedule in his rehab for his partially torn ACL. In fact, Leonard was seen working out pregame on a recent road trip.
Leonard is not only a sure-fire Hall of Famer if he retires today, but he also is still definitely in his prime. Just last year he was not only a First-Team All-NBA selection and an All-Defensive selection, but he also almost shot 50/40/90.
He’s as elite as they come, and is one of the top couple players in basketball.
As for Preston, he is a high-basketball IQ shooter with creative handles. He thrived off of the pick-and-roll in college. While he’s not quite quick enough to move off of the pick-and-roll in the NBA like he did in college, his strong passing will make up for it.
A 6’4″ point guard who shot 39.9% from deep in his last two years at Ohio, Preston fits with this team. He’ll give the Clips a boost when he comes back.
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Hopefully, these two will come back during this season and be ready for the playoffs. That’s the more likely scenario, but if adversity hits and these two won’t be available this year, they certainly will be next year. 2022 is going to be a better year for Clipper fans than 2021, no matter how you look at it.