Harden is in good form at 20+13, and Kawhi Kawhi breaks out again! The Clippers have strengthened and gained 4 advantages to cope with 2 challenges.

Harden was in good condition with an efficient 20+13, and Kawhi scored 30+10 and exploded again! The Clippers, who suffered a shocking defeat in their first show, rebounded strongly to win two consecutive games. Their offseason reinforcements worked wonders, and they have four major advantages to face two challenges.

The Clippers rebounded with 2 consecutive wins

After losing to the Jazz in the opening game, the disappointing Clippers defeated the Suns in the second game and then faced off against the Trail Blazers in the third game. The latter relied on their energy and small lineup to defeat the Warriors, who were in hot form at the start of the season.

In the end, after four quarters of fierce battle between the two teams, the Clippers defeated the energetic Trail Blazers 114-107 and rebounded strongly with 2 consecutive victories.

While winning a winning streak, the Clippers also showed in one breath that after strengthening in the offseason, the team has four major advantages and will continue to meet two challenges in the new season.

Advantage 1: Core player capabilities

For the Clippers, which is built around the two superstars Kawhi Kawhi and Harden, the core player capabilities have always been one of its advantages. After Zubac grew into the third giant in the past two seasons, the Clippers have further amplified their advantages.

In this game, facing the Trail Blazers, who are good at running and jumping, and put a lot of pressure on the ball carrier on the defensive end, the three cores of the Clippers all played an irreplaceable role.

Second leader Harden continued to play the role of a stable backcourt brain. He scored 20 points, 6 rebounds, 13 assists and 3 steals. He successfully helped the Clippers stabilize the situation in the Trail Blazers' crazy press, with a plus-minus value of +12, the highest in the game.

This is also a continuation of Harden's good form since the beginning of the season. In the three games so far in the new season, Harden has averaged 21.7 points and 10.3 assists per game, with a three-point shooting rate of 39.1%. He still plays the role of the team's lowest limit.

After a sluggish performance in his first show, the big boss Kawhi broke out for the second consecutive game. Facing the Trail Blazers' strong physical confrontation, Kawhi efficiently scored 30 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.

He directly killed the game through one offense and one defense at critical moments. As Harden said after the game, Kawhi Kawhi is a very epoch-making superstar. As long as he wants, he can do everything on the court, and Kawhi's performance also determines the upper limit of this Clippers team.

In addition to the two players, Zubac, the inside core who was invisible in the first two consecutive games, also rebounded strongly and returned in this game.

He scored 21 points and 8 rebounds in the game and gradually regained his dominance inside. This was a key part of the Clippers' ability to defeat the Trail Blazers' 5-small lineup.

Advantage 2: Successful reinforcements

The Clippers completed targeted reinforcements this past offseason, and a number of new players also quickly emerged in the new season.

After the introduction of Collins and Luo, the size of the Clippers' core rotation has been greatly improved. The former provides the impact and athleticism the Clippers need, successfully solving the Clippers' lack of depth at the 4th position.

After the game, Zubac also said that he really liked the feeling of playing with Collins, a tall No. 4. Coach Tyronn Lue also said that he would consider using a twin-tower lineup of Zubac + Collins in the finishing lineup.

Daluo has become a reliable substitute for Zubac, providing a stable three-point threat and rim protection performance. Especially after the playing time and role are compressed, the efficiency of this championship veteran has become more prominent.

Paul, who is a reinforcement in the backcourt, is also playing a stable role, sharing Harden's ball-holding pressure in the transition period.

As Zubac said after the game, the team added much-needed things during the offseason. The current Clippers not only have both offense and defense, but also have a good size and an organizer.

Advantage 3: Experience

The Clippers' core players such as Harden and Kawhi are already experienced veterans. In the off-season, they introduced veteran mentor-level players such as Luo Luo and Paul, making the Clippers more experienced and easier to unite internally.

After the game, Harden bluntly stated that our goal is to win the championship. As a player who has won championships, Daluo is very beneficial to our team. He has a good character, but if the game performance makes him dissatisfied, he will scold you directly. We are all grateful to him and fortunate to have him on our side.

Collins admitted that Paul was his biggest motivation after joining the Clippers. He always talks to everyone, and whether you are willing or not at the time, he always tries to lead you in the right direction.

Advantage 4: Depth of the lineup

With the return of core players such as Kawhi Kawhi and the addition of a number of new players, this Clippers team has a terrifying rotation depth.

In the future, with the return and improvement of players such as Bogdan and Bill, the Clippers' lineup depth advantage will be further amplified.

Still facing two major challenges

Although the Clippers have four major advantages, they also face the challenges of a rusty and slow lineup, a lack of chemical reactions, and a huge risk of injury to their core core.

Whether it was the disastrous defeat to the Jazz in the opening game, or the crazy 22 turnovers against the young Trail Blazers in this game, and being once suppressed by the opponent's small lineup and losing the rhythm, it was exposed that the Clippers still had problems in running-in. Tyronn Lue remained patient about this, and emphasized again after the game that it would take 15 games to adjust and run-in.

As for the issue of injury risks, the Clippers can only hope that the running-in will be completed quickly, and at the same time rely on the depth of the lineup to get through the difficult stage at the beginning of the season. As long as they can successfully cope with the two major challenges, the Clippers will definitely be a reasonable championship-level team in the new season.