Ranking each Clippers player on their playoff impact

5. James Harden

While historically a great regular season player, James Harden has a track record of struggling in the playoffs when everything is on the line. Since 2015, he has recorded 13 games in the playoffs where he played at least 30 minutes and failed to score more than 15 points.

4. P.J. Tucker

While he may not have played in as many playoff games in his career as James Harden, P.J. Tucker still brings experience from over 100 games in the postseason to the Clippers. What puts him over Harden on this list is his consistency.

He has never been expected to score 20 points a night, but Tucker brings hard-nosed defense and timely three-point shooting to any team he plays for in the playoffs.

3. Russell Westbrook

Playoff teams led by Russell Westbrook have typically not gone deep into the postseason. But when he does not have to be the primary option offensively, Westbrook has shown he can be a very valuable player when the stakes are high.

Just last season, he stepped up and made a game-saving block for the Clippers in Game 1 against the Suns in the first round. He will continue to be a major factor for LA in the playoffs.

2. Paul George

Another seasoned playoff veteran, Paul George has been to the playoffs 10 times in his career. While he was the subject of jokes due to his 2020 playoff performance in the bubble, PG has been an excellent postseason player by and large. His scoring average and overall two-way impact has nearly always increased from the regular season to the playoffs.

Only one player on the Clippers’ roster can definitely claim to be better.

1. Kawhi Leonard

By now, everyone is aware that Kawhi Leonard is the ultimate playoff performer. He may have struggled to stay healthy in the postseason in recent years, but few are better than him when all the chips are on the table.

Kawhi started his playoff career as a bench player. But since arriving in LA, he has averaged 31 points per game on 53.5% shooting in three playoff runs. He had one of the most impressive postseason runs of all time with the Raptors in 2019. If the Clippers are to win a championship, it will undoubtedly be on the back of Kawhi Leonard.