The Los Angeles Clippers entered the 2019-20 season as one of the favorites to win the NBA title, but despite an impressive 31-14 record, it has been anything but smooth sailing thus far.

Players like Montrezl Harrell have criticized LA’s effort, and the Clippers have been under the microscope with respect to the “load management” strategy they continue to employ with Kawhi Leonard.

According to Jovan Buha and Sam Amick of The Athletic, some Clippers players feel Leonard and Paul George have been on the receiving end of preferential treatment this season:

Off the court, sources say there are some teammates who have struggled with the organization’s preferential treatment that is afforded to Leonard and George. On the one hand, this sort of superstar handling is somewhat commonplace in the NBA. Case in point: LeBron James has a significant voice in Laker Land, where he frequently coordinates practice and shoot-around schedules with coach Frank Vogel depending on what they believe is best for the team at that time.

Any team would face a natural adjustment period when two superstars come into the fold, but things seem a bit more tenuous as far as the Clippers are concerned.

Doc Rivers’ team is just one season removed from a scintillating run after the All-Star break in which they went 18-9 after trading Tobias Harris. That squad never truly revolved around any one player and was essentially devoid of a superstar presence.

Apparently, Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have even had an impact on how the Clippers practice. Some players reportedly believe Leonard made the final call to cancel a pair of walkthroughs earlier this season, and there’s a belief that the club doesn’t practice hard enough:

But that, combined with the team’s constant injuries, the front-loaded schedule and Leonard’s injury management, has created a lighter mood and approach to practices. Multiple players, according to league sources, don’t feel the team practices as hard or as seriously as it should at this point in the season.

Of course, the Clippers are still absurdly talented. At 31-14, they still have the third-best record in the Western Conference even with these purported chemistry issues, and the team is working to fix ti.

But Doc Rivers and his Clippers players will certainly want to clear the air and establish a more consistent approach in the second half of the season.