The Los Angeles Clippers are impressive, hitting shape at a slow, dangerous stage of the season.
Entering the 2024-25 season, the franchise endured the question of whether they could compete following the departure of Paul George’s free agency.
So far, the Los Angeles Clippers have denied doubts. The ball club, led by James Harden’s brilliance, remained competitive. And despite delayed debuting in Kawi Leonard’s season after knee surgery recovery, they remain a solid team under the steady leadership of Ty Lou.
In the great season they are showing off, the Clippers still risk falling into play-in tournaments.
The Clippers are in a tight spot in the NBA rankings. On the 40-31 card, they find themselves in 8th place in the Western Conference.
They are the Minnesota Timber Wolves (41-31) and the 6th Golden State Warriors (41-30), with seeded races likely running until the final day of the regular season.
The Clippers have made a major midseason trade for Bogdan Bogdanovic, who has since provided “incredible” wonders. They went on a five-game winning streak, which was stopped on March 23 this year by top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.
The level of competition has been strengthened as the warriors show up in a dramatic slow season push with Jimmy Butler’s blockbuster acquisition, and T-Wolves finally grasping with Julius Randle.
While it may be taking into account the grinds and outside noise that have been hugged as being in title contest, the Clippers are likely to be able to witness the end of the season in premature ways due to the play-in tournament.
And for Norman Powell, the concept of play-in is unfair.
“I was good for us because it was money play and what’s going on with the (2020 NBA) bubble and what’s going on with everything, but you’re playing 82 games for a reason,” he said after making a low play of nine points with the close loss of 103-101 lightning for the Clippers.
“The top 8 teams are the top 8 teams. You’re offering teams that can’t make the playoffs of the past few years an opportunity in one game.
“It can happen anything, so for a team that worked so hard, put themselves in the playoff spot and raced just to put it at risk in one game, that’s kind of unfair.”
Since it was introduced during the pandemic in 2020, Play-In has been continued by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, extending coverage from the 7th to the 10th seed both on the 7th and the West. To avoid tanking, the tournament offers teams the opportunity to continue competing for postseason spots and win titles.
In the short history of play-in tournaments, only the 2022-23 Miami Heat became the first eight-seeded in 24 years when they reached the NBA Finals, making them fully maximizing their eligibility for competition.
For the Clippers, the road to the NBA Championship may require them to go beyond the chances of facing the Warriors or T-Wolves, passing either the No. 9 Sacramento Kings, the Phoenix Suns and the Dallas Mavericks.
It may be a shame they couldn’t make it directly into the playoffs as they were lowered by the 8th place seed in the West at the end of the regular season. But in the end, Powell just shrugged as he and the Clippers could move into a knockout round position.
“It works in the league,” Powell admitted about the play-in. “It’s intense. I understand that because the audience will go up and make more money as a league.
“But we play 82 games for a reason.”