INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Tyronn Lue has looked back. How could he not? Four years of failure have left scars. He thinks about 2023-24, a 51-win season that was derailed in the playoffs by a Kawhi Leonard injury. About ‘22-23, which saw the Clippers fizzle in the postseason with Leonard and Paul George in street clothes. And ‘20-21, that really hurt. The Clippers made the conference finals that season only to lose Leonard before it started.
“I think about that year a lot,” Lue admitted.
For generations the Clippers have been the NBA’s not-so-lovable losers. In Buffalo, San Diego and Los Angeles. With Danny Manning, Elton Brand and Chris Paul. They have been the little brother to the Lakers and fodder for the rest of the league. The most celebrated moment in Clippers history was the day the NBA threw ex-owner Donald Sterling out of it.
Suddenly, though, there is hope on this side of Los Angeles county. Thursday night was the first playoff game at Intuit Dome and if you haven’t been, it’s spectacular. Team owner Steve Ballmer’s $2 billion creation is worth every nickel. It has great sightlines, a double-sided halo board, a 51-row wall of seats along the visiting baseline filled with maniacs. On Wednesday, Nuggets coach David Adelman took a pot shot at the atmosphere, suggesting that the Clippers piped in crowd noise. Later, he acknowledged the creativity.
“I love what they are doing here,” said Adelman. “The NBA needs more of that.”
AN ELECTRIC POSTSEASON DEBUT FROM THE "THE WALL" IN LA 👊 pic.twitter.com/of0IBjXhqT
— NBA (@NBA) April 25, 2025
On Thursday, the crowd noise—real or manufactured—was pulsing. The Clippers hammered Denver 117–83, taking a 2–1 lead in its first round series. Leonard was brilliant, scoring 21 points on the offensive end, holding Michael Porter Jr. to seven on the other. James Harden added 20. Ivica Zubac had 19. They won the turnover battle, 16–10. The Nuggets shot 40.3% from the floor, an ugly number … until you compare it to the 26.9% they shot from three.
“We made shots,” said Harden.
Said Nikola Jokic, “They were better than us in every aspect of the game.”
Is this it? Is this the year the Clippers put it all together? It would be the unlikeliest. Many in the national media—this writer included—left L.A. for dead after George’s defection to Philadelphia. Most—including this writer—didn’t buy the idea that a prodigious talent like George could be replaced by a collection of role players. No way the Clippers could Moneyball their way to success.
Until they did. Kris Dunn and Derrick Jones Jr. tightened up the NBA’s third best defense. Nicolas Batum played 78 games and shot 43.3% from three. In larger roles, Zubac and Norman Powell thrived. Leonard and Harden are the biggest piece of the puzzle but they are part of one that fits.
“I think when you have a team that appreciates their role and understands what their role is every single night and they're fine with it, it makes it a lot easier to coach,” said Lue. “What our guys have been able to do this year, understanding their roles … it kind of puts guys in their places and guys are fine with their roles and understand what we need from them every single night.”
He still likes coaching superstars, Lue added. And the Clippers have two of them. Leonard didn’t play until January, recovering from a long troubling right knee injury. He has been brilliant since. He averaged 21.5 points in a shade under 32 minutes. He shot 41.1% from three. Los Angeles went 26-11 with Leonard in the lineup—a 58-win pace.
The playoffs, Lue said, are Leonard’s “happy place.” This series he has looked positively giddy. He shot 60% from the floor in Game 1. It was nearly 80% in Game 2. He dipped to 41.2% on Thursday but made 50% of his threes, collected 11 rebounds and handed out six assists.
“He’s a special player,” Jokic said.
KAWHI CORNER THREE 🎯
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) April 25, 2025
the passing in this play👏👏 pic.twitter.com/2jGsk4rD2m
Harden may have been better. Harden’s 20-point, six-rebound, nine-assist effort was “a masterpiece of taking what the defense gives you,” Lue said. Harden was a distressed asset when the Clippers acquired him in 2023. L.A. appeared to be bidding against itself when it signed the 35-year old to a two-year, $70 million deal last summer. Harden responded by playing 79 games and routinely flirting with triple doubles. On Thursday, Harden scored 13 points in the first quarter, engineering a lead the Clippers never gave back.
Still, the Clippers are here because of everyone else. Zubac, who should win the NBA’s Most Improved Player award, is putting up post numbers comparable to Jokic and Joel Embiid. Powell could have been an All-Star. Dunn would be a lock for an All-Defensive team if he met the league’s weird minutes-played eligibility.
“When you think about an NBA team, this is what you envision,” said Harden. “This is probably one of the coolest teams in the sense that everyone understands who each other is ... that's what makes this team so special.”
Said Leonard, “There's guys on the floor that want to guard. They're just not just pointing at me and telling me to take them. These guys are looking an opponent in the eye and saying, ‘I want them.’ They motivate me defensively.”
There’s a long way to go in this postseason. There’s a long way to go in this series. Denver is down but no Jokic-led team is ever out. Winning two more won’t be easy. Still, you wonder—is this the year the Clippers do it? After decades of futility, is this the year they find success?
“If we can do this throughout the playoffs,” said Leonard, “that would be amazing.”
Inside the Intuit Dome, thousands of fans—real fans—would agree.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Clippers Appear to Finally Have the Right Title-Pursuing Puzzle Pieces.
