Lowe -- LA Clippers finding their identity, Wemby's search for space and are the Bucks overthinking this? - ESPN

It's Friday in the NBA, and that means it's time for… seven things I liked and disliked, from the James Harden blockbuster, to an already-ahead-of-schedule Victor Wembanyama to a different dynamic duo in Dallas.

Happy NBA season!

Jump to Lowe's Things:
Harden on LAC | Wemby's search for space
Giddey's premiere skill | What's up with the Bucks?
Sharpe's breakout | Nembhard's float game
Luka and Lively's magic p="">

The Clippers feel so much like a failure — having traded so much for three playoff series wins in four seasons — you sometimes forget the evidence is emphatic that for at least the first two seasons of the Paul George-Kawhi Leonard era, this was a championship-level team with both stars healthy.

Scoff if you'd like. The «if healthy» qualification applies to every team, and the Clippers wagered everything on two players whose bodies have betrayed them over and over. George's injuries in L.A. have been more nagging and unconnected, but most of Leonard's were isolated to his right leg and knee.

Both look healthy now as the Clippers have started 3-2 — with Harden yet to play a game. George is operating at peak boss levels: 29 points on 56% shooting and menacing defense all over the floor. Leonard doesn't look quite as physically dominant, but he has been very good — even rushing up the floor more often as the Clippers take on Russell Westbrook's end-to-end ferocity.

They could have won the title in both 2020 and 2021. They were healthy in the Orlando, Florida, bubble. Some teams thrived in that environment. Some teams wilted. The Clippers disintegrated, melting away against a Denver Nuggets team that was tougher and more resilient. The Clippers at that point had never made the conference finals, but they surrendered