After acquiring Kawhi Leonard and Paul George in a two-day coup during the summer of 2019, the Los Angeles Clippers played offense like a team from the league’s pre-analytic past. They were consistently among the leaders in pull-up twos attempted, as stars and non-stars alike had green lights to create shots for themselves in the […]
That greatness can come from modest beginnings is a common trope — look no further than almost any fairy tale. To put that in the language of the NBA, not all star wings enter the league as stars. Of the 11 All-Stars last season who could be classified as wings, four — Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi […]
Welcome to the 2021-22 NBA season, folks! And welcome back to FiveThirtyEight’s NBA forecast, which is based on our RAPTOR player ratings. Before we get into the results of this year’s model and how our forecast sees the battle to dethrone the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks playing out, let’s quickly address a few of the […]
There’s no blueprint for replacing the catalyst for your championship ambitions. Without two-time NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, the Los Angeles Clippers seemed destined to fall short again — less than a calendar year removed from their epic 3-1 Western Conference semifinals collapse. And a heartbreaking loss in Game 2 of this year’s conference finals […]
What started as a routine-looking transition drive by Kawhi Leonard late in his Los Angeles Clippers’ series-tying Game 4 win over the Utah Jazz could have serious implications for the NBA title chase. Though Leonard stayed in the game for another minute after planting awkwardly on his right knee, he sat out L.A.’s Game 5 […]