After an impressive 2-1 week let’s see where NBA media members place the 43-20 Clippers among the 30 teams in the NBA.

ESPN 

Last week: 3, This Week: 3

Notes: “Ahead of Sunday’s game against the Lakers, many players tried to downplay the matchup as “just another game.” Obviously, it wasn’t; that much was clear in the first five minutes. But that doesn’t mean you should overreact to the outcome. Going in, the Clippers were 10-0 at full strength. That lineup is what they’ve been working toward. That doesn’t mean just getting Paul George back; it means getting him back to a high level. Sunday’s game was a positive sign in that direction”

Sports Illustrated

Last week: 3, This week: 3

Notes: “The Clippers couldn’t contain LeBron James and the Lakers on Sunday, but they should be encouraged by Paul George’s performance. Kawhi Leonard’s sidekick tallied 31 points on 16 shots at the Staples Center, continuing to find his rhythm amid a shaky 2019-20. The Clippers will be far more formidable for James and Co. if George is at the peak of his powers in May.”

Bleacher Report 

Last week: 5, This week: 2

Notes: “The more looks we get at the full-strength Clippers, the harder it is to find weaknesses.
Capable of fielding massive lineups with switchable wings and the 6’9″ Paul George at shooting guard or shrinking into like-sized small-ball units, the Clips can transform like few other teams. Add to that a second unit bolstered by a motivated Reggie Jackson (whose ball-handling frees up Lou Williams to hunt buckets even more single-mindedly) and a reserve corps good enough to compete with plenty of opposing starters, and there’s just no letup in this group.

L.A. hammered the small-ball Rockets on Thursday to hit 10-0 with its full rotation, but it wasn’t up to the challenge presented by the focused Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, falling 112-103 to end a six-game winning streak. Paul George was brilliant against the Lakers, scoring 31 points on 16 field-goal attempts. If the Clips could have gotten him a few more second-half looks (ideally at the expense of Marcus Morris Sr., who was 0-of-9 from the floor), the result could have been different.

A win over the Lakers might even have earned the Clippers the top spot this week. Still, with the Bucks looking vulnerable for the first time all year and with convincing wins over the Nuggets, Sixers, Thunder and Rockets in the last two weeks, the Clips’ recent resume is excellent.

They’ll have to settle for No. 2.

CBS Sports 

Last week: 4, This week: 3 

Notes: “Despite the high-profile loss to the Lakers in one of the best played games of the season, the Clippers are clearly starting to click. Now it’s just up to Doc Rivers to find the right combinations with his incredibly deep and (for now) healthy roster. A silver lining to the Lakers loss is that Paul George had a breakout offensive game after struggling following his return from his latest injury.”

Yahoo Sports

Last Week: 3, This week: 2

Notes: “The Lakers loss notwithstanding, the Clippers are starting to show signs of gearing up for what looks to be a long playoff run.”

The Athletic

Last week: 3, This week: 2

Notes: “Did the expectations change? I think they remained the exact same, even after the Marcus Morris, Reggie Jackson and Joakim Noah acquisitions.

Maybe Jackson or Noah will actually contribute in the playoffs. Maybe Morris won’t think he’s the number one option on this team. Regardless, I don’t believe anything has changed for the Clippers and their expectations this season. They’re in a title or bust mentality, just like a couple of other teams. Giving up the haul they gave up to bring in Paul George, which also meant bringing in Kawhi Leonard, immediately made this a “win championships now” mode for the Clips.

Why this ranking? Even though they fell to the Lakers on Sunday, this was a really good week for the Clippers. Wins over Oklahoma City and Houston were huge. They’re 10-1 on the season when they’re at full strength and that one loss happened against the Lakers.”

Power Rankings Watch: Where Do The Clippers Stand Going Into Week 21
Chris Murch

This past week is representative of what this Clipper team can be. When fully healthy, the Clippers are now 8-0. With the additions of Reggie Jackson and Marcus Morris, we are seeing a team that has 10 legitimate scoring threats, all of whom can also make plays for themselves and others. Another fantastic aspect of this team right now; they all seem to be buying in. Since the three-game losing streak two weeks ago, this team has risen to defensive challenges, made the right reads, and improved their rotations and man-to-man defense. 

Yes, Sunday’s game against the Sixers wasn’t a great defensive performance. However, the D stepped up when it needed to. Shake Milton exploded, as did Tobias Harris – however, they did more damage in the first half than the second. The Clips held Al Horford to 12 points, Furkan Korkmaz to 8, and Glenn Robinson III to 2. Their 3-pt defense didn’t look as good as it had against the Nuggets or Suns, but they stepped up when they needed to in order to snatch a game from a talented, hungry squad. 

The offense we already know a lot about. You have a bench that is averaging nearly 60 points a game since Jackson entered the 2nd unit. Kawhi might be the most consistent player in the league, good for 25-30 every night. PG, despite having some shooting woes since coming back from injury, has had a major impact defensively and has become better acquainted with his teammates on the other end. When he’s hitting his shots, as he had in the past two games, this team is damn near impossible to beat. 

Throw in the consistent defense and high offensive efficiency of Ivica Zubac, Mook hitting bail out buckets, Lou and Trezz doing their thing, Landry Shamet hitting threes off the bench, Patrick Beverley being the all-around leader and glue guy, and JaMychal Green being aggressive and knocking down shots, and you have quite a deadly group. How do you beat this team?

Sorry this wasn’t my most comprehensive post. My 9-5 is kicking my ass. However, go to Zach Kram’s recent piece on The Ringer breaking down the Clips season up to this point, as well as Jovan Buha’s newest piece on the past few games over at The Athletic for more on this new-look Clippers team.

After a 4-0 week, the “unraveling” Clippers are 41-19 and tied for 2nd in the Western Conference. Let’s see where NBA media members rank them among 30 teams in week 20 of the NBA season. 

ESPN

This week: 3, Last week: 6

Notes: “Sunday’s win over the 76ers showed why so many believe the Clippers are still maybe the West’s most complete team.

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George combined for 54 points, while Reggie Jackson, Montrezl Harrell, Lou Williams and the Clippers’ bench provided 69 points. You know the “sky’s the limit” when you’ve been at full strength for only about one-fourth of the season, are 41-19 and still have skeptics wondering how good you can be.”

Bleacher Report

This week: 5, Last week: 8

Notes: “Reminder: The Clippers are not to be trifled with when healthy.

L.A. smoked the Nuggets on Friday, running its record to 7-0 with all hands on deck in a 132-102 win. No Clipper had to log more than 25 minutes, and four players from the league’s deepest bench scored in double figures. Reggie Jackson was particularly stellar, reeling off 10 points, eight assists and seven boards in only 19 minutes of work. Ranking the Clips has been a challenge all year. They’ve rested stars, coasted for long stretches and even appeared totally checked out at times. Nonetheless, we’ve all quietly shared an understanding that the fully engaged version of this team is a steamroller. The flattened Nuggets can now attest to that. 

With four straight wins, all in convincing fashion, it seems like the Clippers are peaking. That makes ranking them based on their ceiling more sensible. They’ll get the chance to validate this week’s climb with dates against Houston on Thursday and the Lakers on Sunday.

Yahoo Sports

This week: 4, Last week: 8

Notes: “The Clippers won all four games they played last week, including victories over the Grizzlies, Sixers and a 132-103 demolition of the Nuggets. They are now a perfect 7-0 this season when they have their roster fully healthy and everybody available. The Clips have had plenty of ups and down in 2019-20, but they will be a force to be reckoned with if they can stay healthy this spring.”

The Athletic

This week: 3, Last week: 7

Notes: “Positive Takeaway: This team fully formed is brilliant. The Clippers just look completely different when they have their regular 10-man rotation. We’ve barely seen it this season, but when it’s out there, the Clippers are slaying everybody else. Depth with the interior is still a question. They don’t really have a point guard who can set other people up. But the perimeter attack is huge and the star power is impressive. Kawhi Leonard looks like an MVP candidate and Paul George continues to play great basketball on both ends of the floor. Everything is in place for the Clippers to make a deep run, but they have to remain healthy. It will annoy Clippers fans the rest of the season to hear that but that’s how you know this team is great. It feels like only their health can get in the way at this point.

Negative Question: What’s the team’s identity when they aren’t fully healthy? This actually doesn’t even really apply to Kawhi or George. It applies more to who their starting point guard ends up being due to injuries or health. When Patrick Beverley is that guy, the team seems to be hyper-focused and the defensive intensity can be saturating some nights. When Lou Williams rarely gets thrust into that starting position, the team just doesn’t have the same fire, even though they have more firepower. The idea of Reggie Jackson starting at any point feels like a disaster too. So it’s really on getting Beverley to be healthy and keep this team focused on defense.”

Sports Illustrated

This week: 3, Last week: 6

Notes: “I remain optimistic regarding Los Angeles’ Finals chances. Sure, there are significant stretches of inconsistency, but the Clippers are still 21–7 when both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George both play. Doc Rivers’ squad is stocked with quality rotation players. Their Finals MVP is looking quite spry as we enter March. This is still the elite team many imagined in July despite some midseason hiccups.”

CBS Sports

This week: 4, Last week: 9

Notes: “The Clippers are finally getting healthy, and they’re looking like the title contender most expected to see at the beginning of the season. They went 4-0 this week, including a convincing win over the Nuggets, who are among their competition for the No. 2 seed out West. The Clippers’ incredible depth was on display this week, with six players averaging double figures over the four wins.”

Power Rankings Watch: How Are The Clippers Faring in Week 20?
Chris Murch

I had my own version of an All-Star break this weekend, as I went to Mexico for my brothers bachelor party. I am unwell. I learned about Mezcal (like Tequila except better hangovers). When you have been drinking for about three days straight, no matter how well your liver filters out the booze or what you are drinking, you ain’t gonna feel 100%. Today has been slightly brutal.

But as we all know, ball don’t sleep. I ended up watching the All-Star game via Reddit Streams on choppy Mexican wifi while passing around Mezcal and talking mad ish with the mostly Laker fans assembled from my brothers friend group. Twas a fun time. Especially when you factor in the fact that Kawhi Leonard won the games MVP and shot the absolute lights out.

In listening to Bill Simmons’ podcast the day after, he joked that Clipper fans should be mad that we see Kawhi go all out in what is realistically an exhibition game, when he load manages real games. He also said he was “out” on Landry Shamet as a player of impact for the Clippers. The disrespect is real. Despite being a longtime season ticket holder, Bill seems to get this team wrong a lot. Especially this year.

What Landry has brought to the table the past month and a half has been high level shooting, impressive ball handling and a lack of fear. You can make the argument that while Paul George (then Patrick Beverley) was out, he was the second or third best player on the floor for the Clippers on any given night. At 22. And undersized. And without a super “defined” position. All Landry does is come in, shoot the lights out, play D to the best of his efforts, handle the ball surprisingly well and not make many mistakes. If you are “out” on that every night, then I don’t know what to tell ya Bill. 

Secondly, no one in #Clippernation is mad at seeing success for any of its players. Load management is a necessary tool for Kawhi and his long-term knee health. I’m straight with him taking as much time he needs during the regular season to perform in May and June. If anything, tonight showed that when the lights are at it’s brightest and the competition is at its highest, Kawhi comes to ball. Expect more of that this summer, people.

Let’s take a look at where the NBA media places the Clippers in their weekly power rankings.

NBA.com

This week: 7, Last week: 5

Notes: “More concerning than the Clippers going 1-3 (and allowing almost 120 points per 100 possessions in the three losses) on their trip before the All-Star break is that the trip ended with Paul George in the TD Garden locker room, dealing with more pain in his left hamstring. There are still eight weeks left in the regular season and the Clips don’t have a back-to-back until mid-March, but it remains unclear if they’ll get an extended stretch with a healthy core between now and April 18.

The Clippers rank sixth defensively overall and have had the league’s best defense in games against the league’s 13 best offenses. But they couldn’t get the stops they needed down the stretch in Boston on Thursday and rank 28th in clutch defense, having allowed their opponents to score 117 points per 100 possessions with the score within five points in the last five minutes of the fourth quarter or OT.

Marcus Morris has taken 32 shots with the Clippers, and 26 of those 32 have come from outside the paint. The most confounding of those shots was his mid-range pull-up over an Al Horford contest when the Clippers came out of a timeout late in a close game and had Morris iso against a good defender with George and Kawhi Leonard on the floor and no movement away from the ball. Morris has scored 0.96 points per possession on isolations, a mark which ranks 27th among 71 players with at least 50 isolation possessions this season.”

ESPN

This week: 6, Last week: 6

Notes: “The Clippers have played 2,655 minutes this season. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have played just 572 of those together. And now Paul George has reinjured his troublesome hamstring, which could cause him to miss a little more time. The Clippers’ primary goal down the stretch is simple: Get the top eight rotation players as healthy and as jelled as possible. Because in those 572 minutes that Leonard and George have shared, the Clippers are a plus-9.6 points per 100 possessions.”

Bleacher Report

This week: 8, Last week: 6

Notes: “Deadline acquisition Marcus Morris Sr. closed at center in Tuesday’s 110-103 loss to the Sixers, and he wasted no time bringing some edge to the Clippers. He got into a dustup with Joel Embiid, which, given their history, was to be expected. Morris will have to do more than scrap with his long list of enemies to make a real difference in Los Angeles. Job No. 1 should be keeping the ball moving (long a challenge for him) and embracing a more limited role than he played with the Knicks.

If the hamstring strain that forced Paul George out of Thursday’s game against the Celtics lingers, Morris could get a healthy share of shots. But when L.A. is fully healthy, he’ll have to make the most of fewer looks while defending across several positions. The Clips lost three of their last four games prior to the All-Star break and have fallen a game behind Denver for the West’s second seed.”

CBS Sports

This week: 9, Last week: 6

Notes: “The Clippers lost road games to the 76ers and Celtics this week, and they still seem far from the finished product that many expect to contend for a title this season. Paul George struggled mightily from the field against the Sixers, going 3 for 15, then re-aggravated his hamstring injury against the Celtics, missing the final two quarters and overtime periods. The Clippers surely think they’ll be fine once they have a full roster, but it would be nice to see it for more than a handful of games before the playoffs start.”

NBC Sports

This week: 5

Notes: “Congratulations to Kawhi Leonard on winning the first Kobe Bryant All-Star Game MVP Award. Leonard was surprisingly open in talking about his relationship with Kobe and how much winning the award meant to him. Now, it’s back to trying to build some chemistry with the Clippers, where Paul George is sidelined again because of injury.”

Power Rankings Watch: How Are The Clippers Faring In Week 18?
Chris Murch

What a weird weekend. First, on Friday, I ordered a White Claw at perhaps the diviest dive bar I’ve ever been in and got a very odd look from the 50+ year old Irish bartender. It was like I entered his house and pissed on his rug a la ‘The Big Lewbowski’. I don’t think I blame him. I was also on a date. The date went well. She didn’t bat an eye at the Claw. Wonder if that’s a good thing or a bad thing…

The next night I watched as the Clippers ate dirt for 48 minutes against a Minnesota Timberwolves team without new addition D’Angelo Russell. They hit 26 3’s, a franchise record, and showed just how bad the Clippers perimeter defense can be sometimes. With guys like Paul George and Kawhi Leonard at the top, there’s no way teams should shoot the way they do against LA. It happens too frequently. Granted, the lack of Moe Harkless didn’t help, as did not having Patrick Beverley. Even Marcus Morris could have helped. One of those games you forget about even before it ends and move on.

The Clippers had a chance to redeem themselves quickly with a road back-to-back against an absolute abomination of a basketball team in the Cleveland Cavaliers, who will only get worse with the addition of ball-stopping big Andre Drummond. This game was over after about five minutes of play, as Lou finally looked good in a start, PG smoked the Cavs everywhere, Zubac controlled the pace inside, and everyone contributed. Morris played decently, adding 10 points. While he was only 5-for-12 from the field, including 0-of-4 from 3, Mook was active defensively early, hit his shots in the mid-range, and spread the floor out exceptionally. We obviously have to see how he’ll fit offensively with Kawhi in the lineup, but it was a solid first showing.

The Clips have a stunted week with the All-Star break coming on Friday. However, looking ahead to this break will be dangerous for them as they face the Sixers and Celtics on the road. These are two games that might not mean a lot standings wise, but mean a lot in terms of importance for this team in terms of gelling as a unit and beating top Eastern Conference talent. The Clips already took down the Celtics in their only OT game of the season, but they always have problems with Joel Embiid’s height. Hopefully they can take care of some business and go into the break with nearly 40 wins.

Let’s see where NBA media members rank the Clippers after 16 weeks!

NBA.com

This week: 5, Last week: 3

Notes: “Maurice Harkless wasn’t bad for the Clippers. He shot 37% from 3-point range and ranked second on the team with 3.7 deflections per 36 minutes. But Marcus Morris is an obvious upgrade offensively, while giving the Clippers some additional size and strength on both ends of the floor. The Clippers have been about average offensively in (limited) minutes with Lou Williams, Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and Montrezl Harrell on the floor together, and Morris can make that group more potent.

The question is how much we’ll see of the Clippers at full strength and at full focus (see their 27-point loss in Minnesota on Saturday) between now and April 15. The good news in that regard is that they have only three back-to-backs left on their schedule. Patrick Beverley has missed the last two games with a groin injury, but rest time is coming and the Clippers will be the last team to start its post-break schedule (getting Thursday and Friday off next week).

They went 0-2 against the Bucks, but the Clips are 6-0 against the other five Eastern Conference teams with winning records, with two marquee matchups on TNT (Tuesday and Thursday) this week.”

ESPN

This week: 6, Last week: 4

Notes: “Never mind their bizarre loss to the Wolves, as the Clippers watched Minnesota drill 26 3-pointers on 44 attempts. The Clippers won the week with their deadline deal for Marcus Morris Sr. At full strength, the Clips have the most impressive top-eight rotation in the league, and Morris adds a new mismatch dimension and lineup option for Doc Rivers to explore. And the biggest win of the Morris deal for the Clips: The Lakers didn’t get him.”

The Athletic

This week: 6, Last week: 5

Notes: “The Marcus Morris addition is pretty huge. I wrote about it during deadline day in trying to quickly assess everything it could mean for the Clippers in their quest for their first title. The more I think about Morris on this team, the more I think we’re going to see the Clippers make sure Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are rested for the playoff run. Morris helps with this far more than Maurice Harkless was able to. Morris proved during his brief New York Knicks run that he can handle the scoring load. Now, granted, those Knicks teams barely won anything, but LA isn’t asking Morris to carry the Knicks when Leonard or George sit out. They’re asking him to fill in as a defender and a secondary scorer next to the other star. Maybe he’s even still the third or fourth scoring option behind Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell.

If you were frustrated by load or injury management before, I think the Clippers have even more freedom to do it now. That’s not a knock on Harkless either. It’s just where Morris allows them to diversify things a bit more. The Clippers probably still need another big man option. I’m not sure who becomes available in the buyout market here. The Clippers received a little good news with Darren Collison opting to stay retired. It means he won’t go to the Lakers. But the Clippers still need to figure out how to eventually get everybody on the floor and protect the rim in the process. If you’re wondering why the Clippers dropped this week, you can’t get blitzed by Minnesota when it hasn’t won a home game with its best player since Nov. 13.”

Bleacher Report

This week: 6, Last week: 5

Notes: ” If Marcus Morris Sr. comes close to replicating the 43.9 percent he shot from deep with the Knicks (on a career-high 6.1 attempts per game), he’ll make the Clippers more dangerous to the select few teams who pose a threat to them in the playoffs. You can never have too many sturdy, switchable wing defenders. The Clippers just proved that by prioritizing Morris over an upgrade at center. Then again, Morris could close some games at the 5—definitely against Houston, but possibly against others.

The Clips eked out a 108-105 win against San Antonio to start the week and then shredded the Heat’s zone defense in a 128-111 win on Wednesday. That first victory got them to 35-15, the best 50-game mark in franchise history. Friday’s horrendous 142-115 loss to a Wolves team playing without D’Angelo Russell was one of the bigger upsets of the season, and it saw a checked-out Los Angeles team miscommunicate repeatedly on defense.

Confirming the theory that L.A. doesn’t get up for every opponent, the Clips are 10-3 in their last 13 games, with those losses coming against Atlanta, Sacramento and Minnesota.

Sports Illustrated

This week: 4

Notes: “The Clippers stood as an upper-tier Finals contender before Thursday’s deadline, sporting a roster rich with depth. But their closing five still felt a body short. Marcus Morris should solve this problem. He adds another long, switchable body on the wing alongside Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, and he adds a reliable three-point stroke. Los Angeles is one of the deadline’s biggest winners.”

CBS Sports

This week: 6, Last week: 4

Notes: “The Clippers were having a great week, beating the Heat on Wednesday before acquiring Marcus Morris before the trade deadline. Then they turned around and suffered their most embarrassing loss of the season, a 27-point drubbing at the hands of a depleted Minnesota team that hadn’t won a game in a nearly a month. Luckily for the Clippers, they played Cleveland on Sunday and won by 1,000 points, even without Kawhi Leonard. Morris had 10 points and four rebounds in 22 minutes in his Clipper debut.”

Power Rankings Watch: How Are The Clippers Faring in Week 17
Chris Murch