[What to watch in the new season] Multiple operations to form the "Sunset Red Battleship", can the Clippers seize the final window for the championship?

There are still 7 days until the opening of the new regular season. Let us pay attention to the Los Angeles Clippers, which used multiple "robbery-style" operations during the offseason to restructure the lineup and transform into the Los Angeles Clippers, predicted by many media to be the favorites to compete for the championship.

Can this "Sunset Red Battleship", which gathers many star veterans, seize their final window for the championship in the new season?

-The mixed blessings of last season

Looking back on the Clippers last season, their two cores perfectly interpreted the term "mixed blessings."

What is "joyful" is Harden's top-notch performance in the regular season, which led the Clippers, who were generally predicted to be unable to enter the play-offs, to 50 wins. He also returned to the All-Star and All-NBA teams after several years; what is "worrying" is the obvious decline in performance caused by aging and long-term overloading. He showed his exhaustion in the final period of the playoffs and had two consecutive poor performances.

The "joy" is that Leonard finally played the entire series with full attendance; the "worry" is that this achievement was achieved when he only played 37 games in the regular season and missed the entire first half. Whether he can maintain his health throughout the season is still unknown.

Zubac's evolution may have been the biggest surprise for the Clippers last season. He averaged 16.8 points and 12.6 rebounds per game, was selected to the All-Defensive Team of the Season, and also performed brilliantly against Jokic in the playoffs.

-The "offseason champion" who came from behind

In response to the shortcomings of last season, the Clippers management showed its determination to "go all out" and created a "sunset red battleship" full of expectations through transactions and signings. Their offseason operations were also rated as the best in the league by ESPN.

They retained the core framework through contract renewal:

- Harden was renewed for 81.5 million in 2 years. The second year of the contract included player options and a guaranteed clause of 13 million US dollars.

- Batum was renewed for 11.5 million in 2 years.

At the same time, a number of targeted reinforcements were made:

- Traded for John Collins to fill the team's shortcomings at the fourth position for many years

- Signed Brook Lopez for US$18 million in 2 years (36.8% three-point shooting rate, averaging 1.5 blocks per game) )

——Signed Chris Paul for $3.6 million in one year (he and Harden averaged 18.5 assists per game)

——Signed Bradley Beal for $11 million in two years, making up for the scoring gap at the second position after Powell left the team

After completing the offseason operations, the Clippers formed a long rotation of more than 10 people with "starting: Harden + Bill + Leonard + Collins + Zubac, rotation: Paul + Dunn + Bogdan + Jones Jr. + Batum + Lopez", with at least 2 available players at each position.

Leonard also said in the interview that this is the most complete and deep Clippers since the Clippers that reached the Western Conference Finals in 2021.

At the same time, the Clippers have also maintained the flexibility of their salary structure through short-term contracts and are fully prepared for the super free market in 2027.

-Concerns about health and age

For the Clippers, compared to the paper strength of the lineup, their success or failure in the new season depends more on whether they can pass the health barrier.

The 36-year-old Harden and the 40-year-old Paul reunited again after 7 years, but their strength is no longer the same as that of the Rockets.

32-year-old Bill, 33-year-old Leonard and Bogdan, 37-year-old Lopez and Batum... Many important rotation players are old, and injury risks may break out at any time during the long regular season.

Among them, Leonard has missed an average of 23 regular season games in the past three seasons, and only played in 37 games last season. In the first two seasons, he was also reimbursed early for the season due to injuries; Bill's knee injury caused him to miss all preseason games, and it is still unknown when he will be able to make his Clippers debut.

The oldest team in the league, with an average age of over 30 years old, has essentially entered their final championship window.

If they can reasonably allocate playing time in the regular season and keep all members healthy in the playoffs, they may break the curse of "compete for the championship every year and lose every year"; but once the running-in fails or the core is injured, this short-term lineup may disintegrate at any time.

In the new season, perhaps every step of the Clippers is wandering between "dream realization" and "regret".