Mirjam Swanson: Can the Clippers cash in on the benefit of no expectations?

Mirjam Swanson, The Orange County Register on Oct 3, 2024

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INGLEWOOD, Calif. — The best thing going for the Clippers this season – besides finally having a home to call their own – might be that no one outside of the Intuit Dome expects much from them.

Kawhi Leonard is, generally speaking, questionable.

James Harden is 35.

Paul George is in Philadelphia.

The Clippers’ otherwise younger and more athletic roster is unproven and unheralded. Unburdened by expectations that seemed, in every previous iteration of a would-be Clipper contender, to deliver only heartache and frustration.

That shouldn’t be a problem this season, because it’s much harder to be disappointed when expectations are low.

“I’m very excited, because for the first time in a couple years, I don’t think people expect anything from the Clippers,” veteran forward Nicolas Batum said Monday at the team’s preseason media day, the first in the Clippers’ $2 billion new arena down the street from SoFi Stadium.

“So that can be good for us, to be in a position to surprise and shock people.”

Who doesn’t like a surprise?

And who wasn’t enamored by recent Clippers teams that surprised us by exceeding expectations?

The 2018-19 Clippers, say. Those “ain’t-no-(uh, punks)” Clippers, as Mike Scott called them. That fierce and feisty team led by Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell, with a rookie Shai Gilgeous-Alexander running point?

The team without even one All-Star that pushed the world-beating Golden State Warriors to six games in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. That rallied from an NBA-playoff-record 31 points down to steal one of those games in Oakland.

That team was never going to win a championship, but it inspired a parade of Clippers fans to tell then-coach Doc Rivers that that squad was their favorite ever.

Or the 2021-22 team that just wouldn’t give up, even though they were without Leonard (who missed the entire season recovering from a torn ACL) and George (who missed most of it with his own ailments).

That bunch was buoyed by former Clippers Reggie Jackson and Luke Kennard, and current Clippers Terance Mann and Batum, a collection of good dudes who successfully mounted one thrilling comeback after another.

Who, on six occasions, helped the Clippers rally from deficits of 18 or more points – including a wild 35-point comeback on the road against the Washington Wizards that ranks as the NBA’s second-largest.

What’s to stop the 2024-25 Clippers from proving a similarly pleasant surprise?

Well, maybe just that this team can’t be considered a group of plucky upstarts.

You can’t say a team is punching above its weight when it’s led by Harden, a 10-time All-Star and former MVP, and Leonard, the six-time All-Star and two-time NBA Finals MVP.

Nor can you feel confident that, no matter what, it won’t quit when the going gets tough, considering that Harden’s history is littered with unhappy breakups and forced exits.

Basically, the Clippers go into this season without pressure to win a championship and without the makings of a compelling underdog.

With little win equity and with few identifiable attributes likely to make fans fall in love.

They’re not the Little Engine That Could, they’re the Freight Train That Probably Won’t.

But maybe they will. Lue is still the conductor, and there’s no telling what type of home-court advantage the Intuit Dome will deliver.

So maybe these Clippers will make the playoffs again. Maybe there’s even a run coming? Maybe Leonard will be able to carefully manage the swelling in his knee so well that he’ll be available in earnest during the postseason for the first time in three years?

Maybe the Harden System will solve all?

Maybe, instead of marveling at a team that showed us something surprising, we’ll be shaking our heads about a team that’s showing us that we should have known.

Maybe they’ll issue a reminder that nothing wins over fans like winning – underdog or favorite or whatever you want to label this new incarnation of the Clippers, this team with all its new trimmings.

With the new building, new uniforms, new logo and new spin on limited expectations, too.

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