Remember when the Los Angeles Clippers traded for James Harden and then promptly lost 6 games in a row? They’re doing their best to forget, and have climbed back up the standings in the Western Conference by having the longest current winning streak in the NBA.
Clippers Are The Hottest Team In The NBA<
Clippers have won 7 straight 🔥
Longest active win streak in the league 👀 pic.twitter.com/occTnKM3x4
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 17, 2023
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There were serious questions about how the experiment would work. Paul George and Kawhi Leonard had failed to put together a championship run in their first four years together, and rumors of the franchise potentially moving on and starting a new ran rampant last off-season. But the team doubled-down by keeping Russell Westbrook around, and shoved all of their chips into the middle of the table by acquiring Harden at the end of October.
Things got off to a slow start with the six straight losses, and the “not enough basketballs” theory began to get thrown around with so many stars and former stars on the team. But during the final half of November, they were able to string together some wins in order to get themselves back up near the .500 mark, playing themselves back into the race.
Kawhi Leonard Has Been A Key To Success
Kawhi Leonard has been on FIRE in the last 5 games for the Clippers:
41 PTS – 5 REBS – 5 ASTS – 61% FG
34 PTS – 6 REBS – 5 ASTS – 58% FG
31 PTS – 4 REBS – 3 ASTS – 79% FG
27 PTS – 5 REBS – 8 ASTS – 56% FG
36 PTS – 7 REBS- 4 ASTS – 75% FG169 points in 177 minutes on 65.5% FG
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) December 17, 2023
They’ve been the top team in the NBA in the month of December. The Clippers currently hold the league’s longest winning streak, which was extended to seven games with their win over the Knicks on Saturday. On November 14th, Los Angeles was 3-7 and in 12th place in the West. Their record is now 15-10 and are currently the 6th seed, just 1.5 games behind the Thunder, who are in second place.
One of the biggest keys to success for the Clippers has been the play of Kawhi Leonard. He has scored over 30 points in 6 of his last 10 games, including 4 of his last 5. And while the totals have been impressive, it is the efficiency at which he is achieving them that has the team winning. In the last 5 games for Los Angeles, Leonard is shooting 65.5% from the field, and has 169 points in 177 minutes.
If the Clippers are able to extend their winning streak to 9–10 games and beyond, it will be quite the impressive feat. They play against some of the top teams in the NBA over the next week, starting with the Indiana Pacers on Monday.
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