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Los Angeles Clippers have the three keys to winning an NBA Title

By Jason Reed

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 21: Kevon Looney #5 of the Golden State Warriors argues for a foul in front of Kevon Looney #5 of the Golden State Warriors during the first half in Game Four of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 21: Kevon Looney #5 of the Golden State Warriors argues for a foul in front of Kevon Looney #5 of the Golden State Warriors during the first half in Game Four of Round One of the 2019 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center on April 21, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. /
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The Los Angeles Clippers are a completely new team from a few months ago as Kawhi Leonard and Paul George will now grace the Staples Center.

The Los Angeles Clippers had big expectations heading into this summer and Jerry West and company absolutely delivered. The Clippers not only signed Kawhi Leonard but managed to send a record-setting package to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Paul George.

The pick-heavy trade could come back to bite the Clippers if Leonard and George don’t work out. However, Clipper fans should not worry, as the team has the three keys to win an NBA Title in 2019.

So while some of those picks might be valuable way down the line, it is definitely worth it if the team can get the first championship in franchise history — or more.

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The three keys we are talking about are probably not what you expect. The first thing that jumps to everyone’s mind, especially in 2019, is shooting. Three-point shooting has taken the league by storm and you have to shoot threes to win.

The thing is that most players can shoot threes now. The Clippers can keep up with any three-point shooting team and that is not one of the keys that makes them stand out over other title-contenders.

They have three things that not many teams have. The fact that they have all three is an extremely promising reason to believe that they will win at least one NBA Championship in the near future.

First and foremost, the team has an elite defense. Defense can get overlooked as it is not as glamorous as scoring 120 points per game but the Clippers are undoubtedly the best defensive team in basketball now.

The three-headed monster of Patrick Beverley, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard is unlike anything else in the league defensively. When you also throw in Montrezl Harrell, who is in that class of great defensive players, it becomes clear that teams are going to struggle to score against the Clippers.

And this is not a defensive team that cannot score well as we have seen in the past. This is a defensive team that has two elite scorers in the starting lineup and the league’s best sixth-man, which brings us into the second key that the Clippers have.

The second key is that the Clippers have that impact bench player that can come in a takeover and make big shots when they matter most. Every title-winning team has that; the Raptors had Fred VanVleet, the Warriors had Andre Iguodala.

The Los Angeles Clippers so happen to have Lou Williams, who is the reigning sixth-man of the year and is going to prove to be a massive difference maker in the playoffs when the Clippers play other teams that do not have such a piece.

Finally, the third key is an often overlooked one and actually concerns two of the good defenders on the team. It is not Leonard or George, though. The Clippers have the third key in Montrezl Harrell and Patrick Beverley.

Every title-winning team needs that high-energy, physical glue guy that can be a headache to the other team as well as the guy that can hold the team together. Think Draymond Green on the Warriors. The Clippers so happen to have two of these guys.

Every version of this player is different and the duo brings different styles of play. Beverley is the brash defender that is going to get under the skin of the other team and make them play worse.

Harrell is the high energy guy that can swing the momentum of the game with a big blocked shot or ferocious finish on the rim. Both play physical, both bring energy to the team and both are going to be the difference in a playoff series.

Every playoff team is going to have a superstar, most teams have two now in the NBA. The difference is made when you go down the totem pole and the Clippers have the trio of Beverley and Harrell as the glue guys and Williams as the sixth-man to make that difference.

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The Los Angeles Clippers are not a top-heavy team and have the necessary pieces to make a run at the title. If history repeats itself, which is often does, then we will likely see the Clippers hanging their first championship banner in the Staples Center.

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