The Cursed Curse of Injury: A Review of the Los Angeles Clippers’ Star History Since 2011

This season, the Los Angeles Clippers have two top stars, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Even if the regular season performance is not ideal, fans still believe that they will enter the playoffs. They are still a team that cannot be underestimated. Unfortunately…again The cursed “injury” of the speedboat. Leonard started the third game of the series and could only sit on the bench because of knee soreness. George suffered a serious sprain before the end of the season. Eliminated the Clippers 4-1 and ended the season.

“It’s coming again!” This may be the first time the Clippers fans heard Leonard’s injury. They didn’t point their guns at the star, but similar plots have been repeated over the years, always in the playoffs. After a year of preparation but got injured in an accident, it is very helpless. The following is a review of the Clippers’ unfortunate “star injury history” since 2011.

[Early stage of the empty city: healthy but immature]

2012 – Health
2013 – Blake Griffin ankle sprain (plays with injury), Chris Paul finger injury (minor)
2014 – Health

In 2011, the Clippers broke through halfway and traded Chris Paul, known as the “League’s No. 1 Control” to the Hornets. Together with the No. 1 pick, Blake Griffin, this perennial bad team welcomed a new life. The initial combat strength is not stable. Paul is at the peak of his career. Even though his partner Griffin is a super rookie, he has only been in the NBA for one season. A physical center who dunks. Competitiveness is not considered a championship level, but there is no problem returning to the playoffs. The past three years have also been a relatively healthy period for the Clippers.

In 2012 and 2014, there were no major injuries, and the team also broke into the second round. Only in the fifth game of the Grizzlies series in 2013, Griffin accidentally stepped on the foot of teammate Lamar Odom when he landed a pass in the air and capsized. In the end, he could only sit on the bench to watch the game in the fourth quarter. Only played 13 minutes as a substitute. In the same game, Paul also accidentally injured his left thumb during scrimmage. Since he was not non-dominant, the situation was not serious. He still played with the injury and scored 35 and 28 points.

[Peak of the air-throwing city: Years of injuries]

2015 – Chris Paul thigh strain (partially absent, played with injury)
2016 – Chris Paul fractured right hand (absent), Blake Griffin left hamstring (absent)
2017 – Blake Griffin toe (absent)

Since Doc Rivers took over Bingfu in 2013, the Clippers have grown significantly. Not only Griffin and Jordan have become All-Star players, but also high-quality shooting guards such as JJ Redick and Jamal Crawford have been added in the backcourt, led by the captain Paul who is at his peak. , Let the Clippers start to get involved in the discussion of the championship team.

In the 2015 playoffs, the Clippers and the Spurs launched an “epic” first-round battle. It was Paul’s lore throw to decide the winner after reaching the seventh game. In the first quarter of this game, Paul left the field for treatment due to a thigh strain, and in the second round against the Rockets, he also missed the first three games. Fortunately, the Clippers have Griffin, who has entered the peak of his career, and took responsibility. Almighty point forward, once handed in 26 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists in a single game. Autsin Rivers, who replaced him, also successfully supported the scene, allowing the Clippers to take a 2-1 series lead before Paul returned to the team.

The latter is another typical speedboat tragedy. The fifth game wasted as many as 19 points of the lead, the defeat was like a mountain, and lost three games in a row. The Clippers created an embarrassing record of leading 3-1 in the playoffs but being reversed. It is true that Paul’s injury affected his performance on the court to a certain extent, but it is not enough to be used as an excuse. The average of the series is 21 points, 10 assists and 4 rebounds.

2016 and 2017 are almost the same story. Due to years of unfavorable trading, the Clippers have never been able to improve their combat power. However, with a little luck and the popularity of Doc Rivers among the players, they were lucky enough to sign Cole Aldrich, Luc Mbah a Moute, Marreese Speights, Paul Pierce and other players, the record remains at No. 4 in the West. Perhaps you can say that the Clippers have not been a championship-level team in the past two years. If the goal is to reach the Western Conference finals for the first time in team history, there is a good chance. It’s a pity that the curse of injury appeared again! The two main players have not been able to finish the playoffs in a healthy way for two consecutive years.

[Short reconstruction transition period: Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have not yet joined]

2018-X (not in the playoffs)
2019 – Health

[Luxury battleship that always hits icebergs]

2020 – Health
2021 – Kawhi Leonard cruciate ligament (absent)
2022 (play-offs) – Kawhi Leonard cruciate ligament (out for full season), Paul George diagnosed (absent)
2023 – Kawhi Leonard right knee sprain (out), Paul George right knee sprain (out)