Despite the Kawhi Leonard scandal looming over the team, vibes were mostly high heading into the season for the Los Angeles Clippers. They were coming off a 50-win season where they defied their preseason over-under projection of 35.5 wins.
The Clippers had an active offseason, as they bolstered their front-court depth by adding John Collins and Brook Lopez. Additionally, Bradley Beal seemed to be a quality Norman Powell replacement, and Chris Paul returning to LA wasn't just a feel-good story; it was believed that he could give the Clippers some much-needed ball handling outside of James Harden. On top of all this, Kawhi was healthy to start the season for the first time in a while.
The Clippers had title aspirations, which were always a bit far-fetched in the West, but they at least expected to be a competitive playoff squad.
Unfortunately, things have gone as poorly as possible for the seemingly cursed Clippers. Through 11 games, the Clippers are 3-8 (on a six-game losing streak), Kawhi is injured again, Beal is out for the season, and they have lost their defensive identity that made them special this season.
This is certainly a surprising early-season storyline, but it's not completely out of left field, given this is more or less what people expected to happen last year. Nevertheless, with high expectations, this lackluster start to the season has to sting for Clippers fans.
The Clippers' defense has fallen off a cliff
As I begin digging into the Clippers' problems, it only seems fitting that I start with defense. The Clippers built their identity around hard-nosed defense, and that seems to have vanished.
Last year, the Clippers shockingly ranked third in defensive rating, anchored by All-Defensive second team member Ivica Zubac. Despite hanging onto their defensive cornerstones and upgrading their front-court, the Clippers have plummeted to the 26th-ranked defense.
The first thing that jumps out is their 3-point defense, which ranked fifth last year and is now 30th. Outside of Derrick Jones Jr., Kris Dunn, and Kawhi (when healthy), the Clippers have plenty of players to target on the perimeter. When Beal was healthy, he was playing some of the worst defense in the league, and Bogdan Bogdanovic is another easy player to target. At 36, Harden is playing the worst of his career, and teams are taking advantage of that.
Zubac had an unexpected career season last year, but he now looks more like his typical self, that is to say, a solid yet not an elite rim protector. Collins has looked like a solid addition, but Lopez is looking like he's at the end of his career.
The Clippers also rank 28th in transition defense, which, paired with their other problems, spells disaster.
The Clippers displayed some of the worst transition defense I've seen all year last night pic.twitter.com/mMFo5psknz
— Matt (@sixringsofsteeI) October 29, 2025
The Clippers' problems without Kawhi
The Clippers' offensive decline isn't as steep (15th to 20th offensive rating). However, without Kawhi, the problems are immense. Notably, the Clippers are 3-3 with The Claw and 0-5 without him. While Kawhi only played 37 games last season, that was fine due to Norman Powell's shocking emergence. This time around, without Kawhi, Harden doesn't have a dependable creator next to him.
Harden has remained fantastic on offense, averaging 23.4 points and 8.9 assists. Regardless, being the lone creator is too much of a burden to shoulder. This allows defenses to key in on Harden, and there's little variety in the offense outside of high pick-and-rolls. Even before Beal went down with a season-ending shoulder injury, this was the case. Beal was averaging just 8.2 points while shooting below 40 percent from the field through six games.
Kawhi's foot injury is a major concern. He has an extensive injury history, and while there's no timeline, it's already been labeled as "significant." We could see Kawhi miss a month-plus with this injury, and the Clippers could be in a hole too deep to dig themselves out. Frankly, without Kawhi, there's no path for this team to become a competent offense; they simply don't have the needed creation next to Harden. Perhaps a surprise trade could help turn things around, but as is, the Clippers roster is flawed.
Since they don't own their pick, the Clippers will attempt to remain competitive. Unfortunately, though, if Kawhi's injury is severe, there's a real possibility the Clippers are a lottery team without a lottery pick. That's something no amount of fake trees can fix.