Podcast: Are the Clippers now the favorites against the Jazz?

The Clippers got the worst news they could have gotten Wednesday when they learned that their best player, Kawhi Leonard, would be unavailable for Game 5 and for the rest of the second-round series. Under those circumstances, it would have been totally reasonable for the Clippers — who have never advanced to the conference finals in franchise history — to let that affect their play in a negative way in Salt Lake City.

But these Clippers are far more resilient than that. Having gone through the fire of this pandemic-riddled season and the seven-game gauntlet in round one, this team is battle-tested and ready to fight, no matter who is available. As such, they Clippers are hosting a closeout game Friday when most everyone counted them out.

As a result, Blake Harris and Sabreena Merchant come together to celebrate this Clippers team, its full cast of characters and what they’ve accomplished to this point. They go through their emotions of the last two days, examine what Utah could do that could theoretically give the Clippers difficulty over the next game or two, and think about how Game 5 ranks in Clippers lore.

They shower lots of praise on Paul George, but it isn’t just reserved for him; this whole team deserves its flowers, and no matter what comes next, their resilience in this moment demands acknowledgement.

You can listen to all that and more in the full episode embedded below, and to make sure you never miss a single show moving forward, subscribe to the Clips Nation podcast feed on iTunes, Spotify, or Google Podcasts.