The Los Angeles Clippers have been teetering on the edge of success for the past 5 seasons since acquiring Chris Paul in December 2011 but have never made the next step to become a true title contender. They seem to be the afterthought of anyone who is considering teams that are is in real contention for the NBA championship, coming after a long list of Western Conference juggernauts along with whatever team LeBron James is on in the East, but, could the Clips luck be changing this year?
A lot of fun is poked at Chris Paul and his apparent inability to make it to the conference finals and have any major success. Despite this, he remains a dominant player even at his 31 years, always being one of the leading assist men in the league and with his basketball IQ, it is highly likely that this quality we have learnt to expect from him is not changing any time soon. In the first 11 games of the season he has come out meaning business, shooting over 47% 
from downtown and with a ridiculous PER of 33.6, showing that we should not forget to put him in the mix as best point guard in the league and that we need to stop drooling over Steph Curry and Russell Westbrook.
The Clips have managed to start the season 10-1, putting them on pace for a big year, out doing this years ‘super-team’, the Golden State Warriors – No Derrick Rose we do not mean the Knicks. Although it may be a little early in the season to give too much credit, the Clippers have taken down some of the tougher teams in the league including the Spurs, Thunder and Trailblazers, showing their current record does have merit.
Production from the other members of the Clipper’s ‘big 3’ has not fallen off either with Centre DeAndre Jordan doing what he does best – grabbing double-digit rebounds, blocking shots and bricking free throws, all with a huge grin on his face. Blake Griffin, by contrast seems to have a look of determined rage permanently fixed on his face, drawing fouls like they are going out of fashion and
stuffing the stat sheet across the board. This could be his concerted effort to prove he is still a superstar in this league after coming off a serious quad injury last season and that he deserves to be a dark horse in this years MVP conversation. This may not be a far cry to image as, with the way the voting system favours successful teams, it would not be surprising to see a few votes go his way if the Clippers maintain this high standard of play.
Yet another major reason why the Clippers are experiencing so much success would be the moves made in the off-season such as signing some veteran leadership in Marreese Speights who is still showing sparks of his younger self as well as resigning key pieces such as 36-year-old Jamal Crawford (who still plays like a sprightly 18-year-old in a pickup game) along with defensive specialist Luc Mbah a Moute who is developing well with his points and blocks per game nearly doubling.
How long this glory will last for the ‘other team in LA’, no one knows, but they are certainly a team no one should forget to keep an eye on.
HoopsTunedIn 