The Oklahoma City Thunder won the NBA championship as the youngest team in the league, but while their zig obviously worked, the Los Angeles Clippers are zagging this upcoming season and going all-in on a roster full of veterans.
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The Clips added Bradley Beal and Chris Paul to their experienced core of James Harden and Kawhi Leonard, but whether that’s going to be a worthwhile risk or a foolish gamble is anyone’s guess. FanDuel currently has the Clippers as the sixth-favorite in the West, behind the Thunder, Rockets, Nuggets, Wolves and Lakers.
In their latest episode, the hosts of the Club 520 podcast seemed to like what the Clippers have done. They were optimistic about what Beal could bring to the table, and one of them even said that LA has a “fire” roster. There was one exception, though. Jeff Teague thinks this team is past its prime.
“I just don’t think this is good. I don’t think it is,” he said. “I love all those guys. If this was three years ago, I’d be like this is the best team you could put together right here. Now? Mmm mmm … This the oldest team in NBA history, bro.”
Teague doesn’t love how old the LA Clippers are, but he also doesn’t think the pieces fit together very well either. “The way they play is isolation basketball. Kawhi Leonard’s one of the best isolation players, he plays isolation. James Harden, the whole game.”
A team this old has durability concerns, especially when it relies so heavily on someone who has missed as much time as Kawhi has in recent years. Surprisingly, the most durable one right now might be the 40-year-old Paul, who played 82 games last season for just the second time in his career.
Teague believes CP3 will be key to the Clippers’ fortunes. “I just gotta see what CP we gettin’. Can CP still rally the troops?” he asked. “He gotta be damn near a coach on the floor, like can he hold them accountable?”
One player who could benefit from getting paired up with the Point God is Beal, especially after the dumpster fire he was part of in Phoenix the past two years. “I think if Brad Beal plays a lot of his minutes with Chris Paul, like in that second unit, then I could see Brad Beal having a resurgence, like averaging 20, 22 points a game.”
The Clippers will have to overcome Father Time if they hope to get a ring, but they’ll also have to get past their previous postseason failures, both as a franchise and as individuals. The Clippers are one of only five NBA teams that have never reached the finals. Kawhi is the only one who’s ever really gotten it done in the playoffs at all, but that was before he came to LA.
Harden and Paul’s playoff demons have chased them their entire careers, and Beal has played on more bad teams than good. On paper, this is a great collection of talent, but Teague is right to be skeptical of what will actually happen when they take the court together.
