Los Angeles Clippers

            The Los Angeles Clippers finished third in the Western Conference with 57 wins and beat the Golden State Warriors in round one of the playoffs before losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 6 games. The Clippers are a powerhouse and are one of the most exciting teams in the NBA. Finally, Donald Sterling is gone and Steve Balmer looks like a great owner. The Clippers experienced a crazy and unique situation with Sterling and cannot be blamed if their heads weren’t in the right place in the most pivotal point in the season. If the owner of my team were a racist and horrible human being, I’d have a hard time even rooting for them. 

The Clippers boast the best point guard in the league in Chris Paul and the most athletic power forward in the league in Blake Griffin. The Clippers might have the most athletic center in the league as well, as DeAndre Jordan has developed into a great shot blocker and rebounder. Doc Rivers is one of the best coaches in the league. Jamaal Crawford and Paul have the two of the best handles in the world. J.J. Redick is one of the best shooters in the league. The Clippers are a living video game. As fun as watching CP3 throw alleys to Griffin, watching Griffin blossom into a superstar has been a joy to watch. The Clippers have a chance to win the West because of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. The two might be the best duo in the league and are only getting better. Paul is such a great point guard and one of the best of all time. It’s up to Doc Rivers to get the bench good enough to sustain a high level when Paul is off the court. DeAndre Jordan was in the running for the most improved player award (went to Goran Dragic) as he posted career highs in rebounds, points and blocks. Jordan nearly doubled his rebounds from 7.2 to 13.6! Jordan entered the league as one of the rawest players I’ve ever seen but has established himself as a highlight machine and great role player.

Question: Is the Clippers bench a strength or a weakness?

The Clippers copied the big 3’s method of acquiring veterans to round out their bench. Hedo Turkoglu is nothing short of terrible and should not be on a playoff roster. Jordan Farmar is used to playing in L.A. and should fit nicely with the Clippers style of play. Jamal Crawford (18.6 ppg) won the sixth man of the year even if he played starters minutes at 30.3 minutes a game. Glen Davis played well for Doc Rivers and was relatively quiet (he was kicked out of a game early by coach Rivers) but is a loose cannon and could revert back to his days as big baby. Matt Barnes is crazy but is also solid and is the Clippers best perimeter defender. The Clippers brought in Spencer Hawes and Chris Douglas-Roberts to shore up the bench even if Hawes and Douglas-Roberts bring little to the defensive side of the ball. Hawes (13.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg. 1.2 bpg) is a stretch four who played really well with Philadelphia and Cleveland in 2013 but it remains to be seen whether it was a one-time thing. If Hawes can shoot the ball like he did last year (41%), he’ll be a great pickup. Douglas-Roberts experienced a similar “breakout year” in Charlotte but he can’t shoot to save his life. Douglas-Roberts also has the worst hair and shortest shorts of any player in the league.   

X-Factor: Blake Griffin

Griffin (above) has an outside shot at winning the MVP

 The Clippers will only go as far as Blake Griffin takes them. Griffin is number 4 on my list of guys who are irrationally hated list (James Harden rounds out the top 5) because he has been unable to shake the label that he is “just a dunker”. Griffin is a superstar (24.1ppg, 9.5 rpg 52.8%) and is starting to develop a jump shot. Griffin’s midrange game went from horrible to not that bad last season and the hope is for his shot to go from not that bad to good this year. Griffin also raised his free throw percentage up to 71% which shows that this guy has improved in almost every facet of the game. Griffin has improved his post up game up to a point to which it is now a weapon instead of a hindrance. His interior defense will never be amazing but he has DeAndre Jordan to load the paint. Griffin is also one of the best passing big men in the game and often throws alley-oops to Jordan. Griffin is a legitimate MVP candidate and should take yet another step forward toward being the best power forward in the league.

Best Case: Blake and CP3 stay healthy and the bench proves their worth. Clippers are 1-3 in the West

Worst Case: Blake and CP3 can’t stay healthy and the Clippers barely make the playoffs. Clippers are 4-8 in West.

Bold Prediction: Blake Griffin wins MVP.