For Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers, a big turning point in the NBA Cup

Making the playoffs after starting the season with 6 wins in the first 27 games has only been accomplished twice in NBA history. 1952/53 by the Bullets and 1984/85 by the Cavaliers.

While they remained at 15 wins in 18 matches, c Clippers so they have a chance to be the third team on the list, while they are back in the top 10 of the Western Conference (22 wins – 24 losses). They could certainly benefit from the introduction of matchmaking, but the milestone is still crazy.

Because on December 20th, Tyrone Lue’s troop seemed to hit the wall, with Chris Paul quite kicked out of the squad for being too negative in the locker room!

But then how can we explain the big shift? For Nicholas Batum, passing through the First Teama very light schedule during the “Final Four” of the NBA Cup ended up helping the group a lot.

“What helped us a lot was the NBA. The NBA Cup break benefited us a lot. We only had two games in eight days, which is unusual in the NBA. It allowed us to really practice and, in a way, reset everything. That week we rebuilt ourselves like in training camp: 2 to 2.5 hour sessions, we went back to basic automation, we went back to basics. It really continued when we took off again.” explains the former captain of the Blues.

John Collins’ key?

With Kawhi Leonard in boss mode, as he may be the best player in the NBA since that famous December 20, with insane efficiency: 31.1 points on average on 50.6% shooting, including 43.1% on 3-pointers, 6.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.3 steals on average through 16 games.

Even for Nicolas Batum, he may be the key to Los Angeles’ current success John Collins.

“James (Harden) takes the lead when he needs to take the lead, but he also understands that Kawhi is the boss. And it works well. It works great between the two of them, there’s a great relationship. And then John Collins, to me, he’s the key to the team now.” the French wing openly confirms. “I think we know very well what those two (James Harden and Kawhi Leonard) are going to do, but we need that third guy. And when John plays like he’s been playing for three weeks, it’s really hard to beat us.”

The result: With Kawhi Leonard at this level and a group finally formed around him, the Clippers are in the process of pulling off one of the most spectacular comebacks in Major League history. Still, the eternal question surrounding this team from Los Angeles: Will they last until the end of the season?