2024-25 NBA Season Preview: Los Angeles Clippers

2024-25 NBA Season Preview: Los Angeles Clippers

We are less than one week away from the start of the 2024-25 NBA Season! To continue our preseason preview series, we will be diving into the Los Angeles Clippers, who will be moving to a brand new arena in Inglewood, Calif. Let’s not waste any more time and jump into it!

What happened last year?

My biggest question for Los Angeles was how healthy would they actually be. In fact, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard had their healthiest seasons since arriving in Los Angeles., playing 74 and 68 games, respectively. The Clippers also traded for James Harden in early November and signed Russell Westbrook in free agency. They ultimately went 51-31 and finished as the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference, finishing with the 7th-best adjusted NET Rating, 5th-best adjusted offense and 17th-best defense, according to Dunks & Threes. Though Leonard missed 12 of the team’s final 14 games due to knee inflammation and the Clippers lost in six games to the Dallas Mavericks in the opening round of the postseason.

Offseason Recap:

The Clippers did not have an ideal offseason, to say the least. I understand why they didn’t want to pay Paul George, but I still don’t completely understand why they wanted to lose him for nothing instead of doing business with Golden State. In all fairness, they do have more financial flexibility–adding Derrick Jones Jr., Kevin Porter Jr., Kris Dunn and Nic Batum. Though they still have a Kawhi Leonard-size problem, who they just paid. Leonard isn’t healthy and hasn’t been consistently healthy since coming to Los Angeles. I am bullish on a few of their young-er pieces though, namely Kobe Brown, Jordan Miller, Alondes Williams and Trentyn Flowers. Plus I love adding former head coach Jeff Van Gundy on the sidelines to run the defense while Ty Lue mans the ship. They have good coaching, though I’m not particularly bullish on their season outlook–relative to the rest of the West–if Leonard misses an extended amount of time due to knee inflammation.

Projected Starting 5:

James Harden, G – Without George and Leonard (at the start of the season), we may see Rockets-esque usage from Harden. OK, maybe not that high, but high enough to where he could have his productive season since leaving Houston.

Norman Powell, G/F – Powell will be a full-time starter for the first time since getting traded to Los Angeles two seasons ago. He’s been one of the league’s best 6th men for the last two years. He’s a dead-eye shooter from all areas and above-average defender who can provide a jolt for a Clippers team in need of production.

Terance Mann, G/F – Mann recently signed a three-year extension with the Clippers. He’s expected to be another beneficiary on both ends without Leonard or George. 

Derrick Jones Jr., F – Jones had arguably the best season of his career with Dallas last year after signing a minimum. He will have a heavy 3-and-D burden again this upcoming season, and I think he’ll be up for the challenge.

Ivica Zubac, C – Zubac, who signed a three-year extension worth nearly $60 million in August, is one of the better-rebounding bigs in the NBA while being reliable on the interior. I’m lower on his defense than the consensus, but he holds his own to a respectable degree.

Notable Reserves:

Kris Dunn, G – Dunn will be with his 6th organization in nine seasons, spending the last two seasons with the Utah Jazz. As a pesky point-of-attack guard who’s a solid playmaker off the bench, I think this is a good add.

Kevin Porter Jr., G – I’m not a fan of this.

Nic Batum, F – Batum played three games with Los Angeles last season before getting traded in the deal for Harden … he’s back! Over his last six seasons, he’s averaged 7.2 points and 4.5 rebounds on 39.2 percent shooting from deep. It’s not much, but you know what you’re getting from him at this stage of his career.

Biggest X-Factor: Terance Mann

The easy pick would either be Leonard, who’s still hurt, or Harden. Instead, I’ll roll with Mann because I think he has the most room to grow without Leonard and George. It will be Harden’s offense, but I want to see him add an extra layer of creation that he’s flashed in the past. Take the extra step.

Season Projection:

I currently have Los Angeles as the No. 13 seed in the West. That may be too low given the coaching and the fact that it doesn’t own its own pick, but I’m not bullish on the outlook in this conference if Leonard’s going to miss an ample amount of time.

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