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Los Angeles Clippers’ playoff advantages over the Los Angeles Lakers

By Jason Reed

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 25: JaVale McGee #7 and LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers defend a shot by Paul George #13 of the Los Angeles Clippers in the second half of the game at Staples Center on December 25, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. 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. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 25: JaVale McGee #7 and LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers defend a shot by Paul George #13 of the Los Angeles Clippers in the second half of the game at Staples Center on December 25, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. 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. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Clippers
(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Clippers /

1. The Los Angeles Clippers are going to be fresher

I dubbed this a double-edged sword in the next slide preview because it really is a double-edged sword. The way that the Clippers have not only managed Kawhi Leonard but the unfortunate injuries that the team has sustained has led to the team not playing together very often.

The bad side of that reality is that when the going gets tough in the playoffs and two elite teams are playing each other, the team that is more familiar with each other, has more defined roles and has played 75+ games as a complete unit is going to naturally be more effective than the team that has only gotten 30 games together as a cohesive unit.

That is the side of the sword that Clipper fans look the other way towards and the side that Laker fans only acknowledge.

On the other side of the equation, the Los Angeles Clippers are going to be much fresher than the Lakers as the team will have fewer miles on their legs from this season.

That absolutely can make a difference and we have seen teams fall apart down the stretch and breakdown because of the workload of an 82-game season. While it absolutely could lead to some hiccups, it does help that the team is reducing its chance of being injured in the playoffs.

This is especially important with LeBron James. James has displayed the ability to swallow a massive workload before and had more rest than ever before in his career last season, but he is nearing 60,000 combined career minutes, making the grind that much harder.

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