The Los Angeles Clippers are entering next season on a mission to win the NBA title once again.
This new era of the Clippers with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have not reached that pinnacle just yet.
However, strides have been made.
They made it to their first Western Conference Finals in the franchise’s history.
Next season should be another step in the right direction.
The reality of the Clippers is really problematic.
There are several problems that they are going to be facing.
Here are the three biggest problems for the Clippers.
3. The Lakers Are Deep
The biggest rival of the Clippers have been the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Clippers want to be the team of L.A., but cannot seem to surpass them.
It also hasn’t helped that the Lakers won the title in 2020; the same year the Clippers choked a 3-1 series lead in the second-round of the playoffs.
This offseason was big for the Lakers.
They re-tooled their roster after an early playoff exit last season.
The Lakers added Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, Rajon Rondo, Dwight Howard, and others.
Depth is going to be a big key for the Lakers.
To go along with that deep roster, they will have a healthy Anthony Davis and LeBron James.
They are set for next season.
The Clippers roster on paper does not match with their rivals.
2. Lack Of Guards
The guard play for the Clippers has been part of the problem for a couple of years.
Next season should not be any different.
They moved on from Rondo and Patrick Beverley, in order to bring back a returning Eric Bledsoe.
However, Bledsoe has not been a very good player in the league the last two seasons.
Also, he is getting older.
Reggie Jackson is back, as he is trying to build off of his bounce-back season.
They have some young guys, including Terance Mann, ready to get some big minutes.
The issue is that none of these guys are as good as other star guards in the NBA.
Jackson is inconsistent.
Mann is still a young role player.
Bledsoe is on the tail end of his career.
They are still in need of more guard help.
However, the help might not be on the way anytime soon.
1. Kawhi’s Injury
One of the sadder bits of news coming from last season was the injury to Leonard.
Leonard was on a tear in the postseason.
Then, he suffered a knee injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the playoffs.
No one knew the severity of the injury until after the season.
We learned that it was a serious one.
He tore his ACL partially.
That means he is going to miss anywhere from six to nine months.
With Leonard’s history, the Clippers should not expect him to play for most of the season.
There is even a chance that he shuts it down for the entire year.
The Clippers with Leonard are a dangerous team; a title contender.
However, with no Leonard, they are a good team with no title aspirations.
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