Coach Tyrone Liu's wish list is short this year. All he wants is 15 games with a full and healthy lineup. That's 15 straight games with All-Star Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and other top Clippers talent. No street clothes.
But given the team's injury vulnerability and philosophy of resting players before games, its quest for consistency can be difficult, if not impossible. This week was a perfect example of how difficult it is for the Clippers to find any kind of consistency.
All players are eligible to play against the Boston Celtics on Monday, with the exception of Norman Powell, who has been out since November 29 with a groin injury. The Clippers defeated the Celtics.
The damage began Wednesday after John Wall missed his first straight game. However, Leonard and George were on the field to face Minnesota. You fight to win.
A second game against Phoenix followed on Thursday. Leonard was on a planned break and was with George, Reggie Jackson, Ivica Zubak, Luke Kennard and Powell due to injuries and sudden pain. "Clippers" suffered a persistent defeat.
Liu said the injury was frustrating, but there wasn't much he could do except trust in his health and the medical staff.
"It depends on who is healthy and can handle it," Liu said. "When players leave, it puts a lot of pressure on other players to play more and do more. So even if people go out, if you want to play heavy sports or heavy sports, kill other people."
Other players were affected by difficult minutes. Zubac, who spends an average of 29.5 minutes per game, is a clear example of this.
Iron Man Center Clippers don't like to sit idle. He played through the pain, saying it was just "part of the game." But the 7-footer suffered a hamstring injury against Minnesota after starting all 30 of the previous games.
Jackson is the same. Height missed the game and suffered several minor injuries but hobbled off the field on Wednesday. He averaged 29.3 minutes.
Marcus Morris Sr. and George surpassed the 30-minute mark while the other five carried the load for just over 20 minutes per game.
Workload management, or injury management, is another issue that has plagued the Clippers season since Leonard's arrival in 2019. This concept allows teams to control the number of minutes played by experienced and previously injured players.
Before the season started, the Clippers, along with George (elbow) and other veteran players, devised a plan to manage Leonard, who had torn his cruciate ligament. Team President Lawrence Frank outlined the plans at a press conference ahead of camp.
Frank said the detailed plan is to "give some weightlifters (a break) where they're not loaded right now, but there's enough continuity where the rhythm is, so there's a good balance."
Other than that, it doesn't quite work. The Clippers use 11 starters. Leonard has missed 21 of 31 games since recovering from surgery for knee pain and a sprained calf. George missed nine games. Kennard suffered from a nagging calf injury and only played in 19 games, and several other injuries left him unstable.
Frank said the Clippers were built to support their veterans over the long term, but his plans fell through when the young stars were taxed.