How the hiatus affects all 30 NBA teams

LA Clippers: Taking wind out of their sails

Before the coronavirus took over our lives a few weeks ago, you may have heard about how good the LA Clippers were now that they were fully healthy. That loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in a highly anticipated Staples Center showdown stung, but the Clips’ 10-1 record and plus-11.6 point differential in the 11 games where Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell have all played is nothing to sneer at.

The Clippers had been on a 7-1 tear, they were obliterating good and bad teams alike, and with new faces like Marcus Morris and Reggie Jackson on board, they were poised to use the season’s stretch run to build the momentum of a runaway freight train.

Being named after a type of ship, it’s fitting in the most ironic way possible for the Clippers to have the wind taken out of their sails like this. Then again, even a little bit of practice time could be huge for this team to continue to jell. Kawhi is no stranger to load management, so as long as that breeze starts picking up again when the NBA is ready to resume, this long layoff could wind up paying dividends for Doc Rivers and company.