Not everything has changed: The Clippers have Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, and they still have Patrick Beverley and Lou Williams. Clippers fans’ belief in their young center Ivica Zubac is as pronounced as ever.
Otherwise, though, wow, what a difference a year and two months makes.
For one, this season is set to start in the midst of a pandemic: The NBA announced on Wednesday that, league-wide, 48 players were positive for the coronavirus in the testing that greeted them as they returned to their teams’ home markets in the past week.
The coronavirus, which relegated the NBA to a bubble in Florida last season, also has pushed back the start of this one, which will be slightly abbreviated and played largely in empty arenas – starting Dec. 22 with a Clippers-Lakers clash at Staples Center devoid of fans.
Beyond those more existential disruptions, in the Clippers’ quarters, the buzz no longer is about what an ideal fit two no-nonsense stars will be with a tough-minded group of overachievers.
The topic de jour instead is whether the superstar treatment afforded George and Leonard last season disrupted chemistry so badly it caused the team to underachieve spectacularly. After being anointed among the title favorites for the first time, the Clippers blew a 3-1 series lead and lost to the Denver Nuggets in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.
As a result, Coach Tyronn Lue has replaced Doc Rivers in the driver’s seat, fielding questions Wednesday on Day 2 of what this season is an all-virtual “media week.”
Lue – who has played with and successfully coached the highest-profile of stars – might be uniquely qualified to navigate the challenges on a Clippers’ redemption tour.
“Last year, we all know we underachieved,” said Lue, who laced up his sneakers beside Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O’Neal and Michael Jordan, and who called the plays from the sideline for LeBron James.
“We had high expectations and we didn’t accomplish those goals, along with (28) other teams. … We fell short of that and we all know that. But now we have a new attitude. We have a new system that we have been putting in place.
“I’ve been talking to our players the last month and a half, two months. They’re very excited.”
They includes Leonard, whom Lue described as eager to compete – and also accountable – after last season’s early playoff exit.
“We all failed at our goal last season and we all know that,” Lue said. “Kawhi has done a great job of taking (initiative) to get guys on the phone, talking to guys, seeing guys more.”
During a pandemic, which has forced teams to open training camps cautiously, with four days of individual workouts instead of more team-oriented training, those sorts of overtures from the team’s biggest star could have added value.
So, too, could Lue’s experience working with players who perform in the harshest glare of the spotlight. He helped to heal a fractured Cleveland Cavaliers team – led by James – en route to three consecutive NBA Finals appearances, including a title in the first.
“Anytime you coach LeBron James, there is a lot of media scrutiny, a lot of pressure to win,” Lue said. “And just being able to deal with that caliber of player, with Kawhi and PG being our two best players on the team, I think it translates over to just being the Clippers coach and being able to relate to those guys, understanding stars in this league, how they perform, what they like, what they want to do. Just being around guys like that, it’s definitely helped me out a lot.”
Honesty, Lue said, is the best policy. Even with – or perhaps especially with – the great ones.
“What I learned from Brian Shaw a long time ago was always tell the truth, whether they like it or not,” Lue said. “Even (back then) with Kobe and Shaq, just telling those guys the truth. They might not like it, but they respect it.
“They are not always going to like what you have to say but if you be honest and tell the truth, I think if they’re real with themselves, they can always look and … the next day (say) like, ‘You know what T-Lue, you were right.’ I learned at an early age. So that is why I will be able to hold guys accountable. Whether it is a great player, the best player on the team to the 15th player on a roster, that is kind of what I live by.”
It will take more than straight talk to make headway in a loaded Western Conference. It will require some on-court adjustments as well – alterations that George said were missing last season during an appearance on the “All the Smoke” podcast with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson.
Paul George talks Clippers chemistry issue on #AllTheSmoke next Thursday on https://t.co/YiP8zmH7Ef.@Yg_Trece pic.twitter.com/d3tNR171vV
— SHOWTIME SPORTS (@SHOsports) December 2, 2020
“The conversation was like ‘We’re gonna be alright,’” George said in regard to the second-round playoff debacle. “The conversations should have been like, ‘We need to change things.’
“At the end of the day, I don’t think we deserved it; we wasn’t prepared enough going into it, just us-making-adjustments standpoint.”
George also says he was unhappy with his role in Rivers’ offense, suggesting that he didn’t have enough opportunities to mix in pick-and-rolls and post-ups.
Lue said he’ll introduce fresh ideas.
“We have a new system that we have been putting in place,” he said, noting that he plans to utilize the playmaking ability of new shooting guard Luke Kennard and that the Clippers’ two 7-footers – Zubac and recent free-agent acquisition Serge Ibaka – could play in lineups together.Those plans will benefit from having healthy stars, of course. In their first season with the Clippers, Leonard and George missed most and all of training camp, respectively.
This year, they’ll hit the ground healthy.
“I just think more so, for us, it’s practice,” Lue said. “When your two players of that caliber miss training camp, it’s hard to build that camaraderie and that chemistry. So just having these guys healthy, coming in (Thursday), I’m excited for it.
“Guys are excited just to be on the court and healthy and we’re just gonna take it from there.”
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