LOOK out, Los Angeles, there’s purportedly a new Sheriff in town and his name is not Lebron James. The arrival of reigning NBA finals MVP Kawhi Leonard—playing for rival team Los Angeles Clippers, with Paul George in tow has caused much excitement in tinseltown.
And because you can never get too much drama in Hollywood, this is just another iteration of how interesting things can get for this coming NBA season.
And we are talking only about one city.
CLIPPERS. Long regarded as the poor cousin of the more glamorous Lakers, this franchise is finally on the verge of breaking through.
Well, there was a time when Cris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan donned their jerseys and expectations were high.
But they remained as mere expectations, and the trio never lived up to that promise and started bickering and were eventually disbanded.
Still, this team kept their rotations solid with the likes of Patrick Beverley, Montrezl Harrell and Maurice Harkless. The addition of Ivica Zubac added height and versatility.
But now, the arrival of George and Kahwi has got NBA pundits ranking them ahead of the other dynamic duo in the Lakers--James and Anthony Davis.
CHEMISTRY. I am a huge Paul George fan so I am now also quite bullish for this team, but quite honestly, I have some reservations, at least for the first half of the first season.
I chose to remain conservative because I do not know if chemistry-wise these two will find their groove immediately.
For one, these two can play similar positions. As wingmen, both of them can shift seamlessly from the shooting guard to small forward positions.
Now that can be a boon, but it may as well be a bane if they do a lot of duplication as they both can shoot the ball, penetrate and dish it out.
It will take some time to figure out and if you factor in their teammates, that’s a lot of moving parts to consider.
Not only do they have to adjust to each other, they also have to be integrated into the system that coach Doc Rivers will implement.
I have no doubt though they will finally be able to figure it out deep into the season and when that happens, expect them to make a serious run for the title.
VERBATIM. “I was very close. Real close. But when (the Clippers) presented the opportunity of playing with Paul it was easy, it was a yes. I said let’s get it going.”—Kawhi Leonard on potentially signing with the Los Angeles Lakers (www.nba.com)
LAST ROUND. It’s on my cousin Edwin Sincero Tiu, who celebrates his birthday this week. Cheers!