Is this the year the Clippers break the “Clipper Curse”?
by Joseph King | by Joseph King
What is the Clipper Curse?
After being founded in 1970 as the Buffalo Braves and later moving to Los Angeles in 1984, the Clippers are one of 11 franchises to never win a championship. Their 53 year drought is now the fourth longest in the NBA and they also rank as one of the Association’s worst teams historically. Out of the 30 NBA franchises, the Los Angeles Clippers rank 29th in terms of all-time win / loss record, their .419 winning percentage superior only to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Clippers have been considered one of the top West contenders ever since joining up Kawhi Leonard with Paul George in 2019. Unfortunately, a string of injuries to their key players has prevented them from reaching their true potential. The team’s best finish in franchise history was in 2020/2021 where, with Kawhi Leonard injured, Paul George dragged the Clippers to the Western Conference Finals with a string of fantastic performances.
Whether it be untimely injuries to key players, poor management or just overall bad luck, something always seems to go wrong for the Clippers. This has led to fans dubbing the phenomenon the “Clipper Curse”.
The 2023/24 Clippers have the talent to break the curse
The Clippers are essentially running with a “big four” after acquiring 2018 league MVP James Harden to join up with Leonard, George and Westbrook. It was true 'all-in' type of play by Los Angeles as they target a championship either this season or the next. In order to construct the squad they have now, the Clips had to leverage their future as they gave up nearly all of their draft picks for the next six years. Head coach Ty Lue will be pleased with how things have gone as Harden has slotted in nicely at the point guard position. At 29-14, the Clippers are now sitting third in the Western Conference standings and find themselves just two games behind the Thunder for first-place.
It’s been their run since December that has made the oddsmakers perk up and take notice. The Clippers have shot up the standings in the last two months with an incredible 21-4 record since December 1st, the best in the NBA during that time frame. Remember, if you ever aren't able to catch a game live you can take advantage of SportyTrader's NBA Livescore page to stay up to date with the action!
Below is their performance in a few key statistical categories as well as the league rank (in parenthesis):
| Average scoring margin | Adjusted offensive rating | Points per game | Points allowed per game | Three-point % | Effective FG% | Effective FG% allowed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +5.9 (4th) | 119.4 (5th) | 118.2 (9th) | 112.0 (8th) | 40.1% (1st) | 57.2% (4th) | 53.7% (8th) |
Additionally, we'll take a quick look at how the Clippers "big four" have performed this season:
| Player | Points per game | Rebounds per game | Assists per game | Three-point % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kawhi Leonard | 23.7 | 6.2 | 3.8 | 44.3% |
| Paul George | 23.5 | 5.6 | 3.6 | 41.9% |
| James Harden | 17.3 | 4.5 | 8.5 | 42.3% |
| Russell Westbrook | 11.3 | 5.9 | 4.7 | 30.6% |
Naturally, with the amount of talent and star power, Ty Lue has a delicate balancing act on his hands to get all of his players sufficient touches. Therefore, it’s not too alarming seeing the scoring numbers for each player drop a bit, as it’s a net benefit to the team overall. Russell Westbrook in particular has been a huge asset for the Clippers. The 2016/17 league MVP provides an instant spark off the bench with his dynamism and energy.
The three ball will be vital to the Clippers’ title hopes and, so far, they've excelled in this regard. They're shooting a league best 40.1% from deep and as you can see from the above table, three of the Clippers’ big four are shooting over the 40% mark.
While LA lost some depth and size in the trade for Harden, they still managed to keep ahold of impactful players such as Norman Powell, Terance Mann and Ivica Zubac. Powell in particular is having a solid season coming off the bench, contributing 13.5 points per game on an ultra-efficient 45.3% from three-point range.
Click here to claim your welcome bonus!
Clippers championship odds
It wouldn’t be hyperbole to say that this is the best chance the Clippers have ever had to win an NBA championship, even with half of the regular season remaining. Of course, there are a few prerequisites - the main one being that their core stays healthy.
The Western Conference is looking wide open as there isn’t one dominant team, a la the Celtics in the East, that stand out as the clear frontrunners. Denver are the current favorites to make it out of the West but they haven’t looked exceptionally better than the rest of the conference contenders.
The Clippers are currently the fourth favorites according to the oddsmakers and second favorites in the Western Conference, behind only the previously mentioned Denver Nuggets. See our experts' predictions on the latest NBA games over at SportyTrader's NBA betting tips page!
Register your account to claim a great bonus!
NBA Championship Odds
- Boston Celtics - 4.00
- Milwaukee Bucks - 5.25
- Denver Nuggets - 5.25
- LA Clippers - 9.00
- Philadelphia 76ers - 13.00
- Phoenix Suns - 13.00
- OKC Thunder - 19.00
- Minnesota Timberwolves - 21.00
- LA Lakers - 29.00
- Dallas Mavericks - 34.00
- NY Knicks - 36.00
Odds found on bet365
Stay on top of changes to the latest odds by checking out our NBA betting odds page.
