The Los Angeles Clippers: Pretenders or Contenders?

Houston Rockets’ James Harden (13) tries to knock the ball away from Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin (32) as Matt Barnes looks on in the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Nov. 28, 2014, in Houston. The Clippers won 102-85. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

The Contenders

Having arguably the best point guard and leader at the helm of the team in Chris Paul, and top 5 power forward in Blake Griffin, the Clippers feel they should be able contend in this league. Don’t forget, they also have a veteran coach in Doc Rivers. Rivers is no stranger to anyone who watches the NBA, especially because he led the Boston Celtics to the 2008 title.

The other pieces in the equation are the always improving defensive anchor, DeAndre Jordan. Jordan is an elite shot blocker and a tenacious rebounder which is the perfect player to go alongside Griffin. At the wing position they have an instant spark plug of the bench in Jamal Crawford, and sharpshooter J.J. Redick. Also, contributing to the team are the “3 and D” small forward Matt Barnes and stretch center Spencer Hawes. Add all this up and you have a complete team with Paul and Blake Griffin as the starring roles.

The best part about all this? Blake Griffin is still getting better.

Griffin came into the league as the first pick in the 2009 draft, but missed the entire season due to injury. He debuted his talent in the 2010-2011 season averaging 22.5 points per game, 12.1 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. Griffin won Rookie of the Year and it seemed harder to improve off of those numbers, but he has done exactly that. The stats may not show the improvement as a player, but when we go more in-depth, he is becoming a more complete basketball player. His points per game have dropped because of Chris Paul joining the Clippers in 2011. His rebounds per game have also dropped because of the emergence of center DeAndre Jordan. You need to understand Griffin shot attempts have gone down since Paul’s arrival. Blake went from averaging 16.8 shots a game to 14.4 in the first two years Chris Paul was with the team. The good side of that is his field goal percentage increased from 50.6% to 54.3% in that time.

Small improvements in his shot and from the team as a whole showed in the 2013-1014 season. Griffin averaged 24.1 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 4 assists a game last year. The team posted a 57-25 record, which qualified for the highest winning percentage in the team’s history.

Can’t forget about CP3. In 2013-2014, Chris Paul averaged a double-double with 19.1 points and 10.7 assists while being a pest for opposing point guards. Paul averaged 2.5 steals per game and lead the league in steals.

The Los Angeles Clippers were statistically, the best offensive team last season. They were number one in points per game with 107.9 as well as offensive rating at 112.1. On the defensive side, the Clippers gave up 101 points per game, which qualified for 14th out of 30 teams. A positive for the defense was that they were 9th in defensive rating at 104.8.

Everything is there for the Los Angeles Clippers. That is why analysts believe they can win the NBA championship this season.They  play like one of the best teams in the regular season. It also doesn’t hurt Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan are constantly in sync to create spectacular plays for everyone watching.

Unfortunately, that might be where it stops for the Clippers. Spectacular plays in the regular season, but do not have it takes for the grueling Western Conference playoffs.