Los Angeles Clippers: Faux NBA Championship Contenders?
The Los Angeles Clippers went out and made some big moves this offseason, but does that really mean they’re true NBA Championship contenders
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The Los Angeles Clippers are regarded by many intelligent people around the NBA as one of the premier teams in the league, and many people even have them contending for an NBA Championship.
The problem with that though, is they’re not contenders. And there’s a handful of reasons why.
Los Angeles has yet to make any sort of championship impression in the playoffs (they fell apart last season in the second round after impressively knocking out the Spurs) and their best player, Chris Paul, doesn’t have the credentials that would indicate he can get the job done for the Clippers.
In addition, the Clippers continually walk around like they’re the best team in the NBA, but they’ve yet to reach the conference finals in any season since they’ve acquired Paul – or in the history of their franchise, either. And with the competition that they must navigate through in the Western Conference, which only seems to get better by every passing offseason, the thought of making an NBA Finals run is looking more and more like a pipe dream.
So what is the problem with the Los Angeles Clippers, what is preventing them from reaching the NBA Finals?
Well, for one, Doc Rivers hasn’t exactly done a great job of building a team. When Austin Rivers (son of head coach and President of Basketball Operations) is logging serious minutes in playoff basketball, that’s when you know you have a problem – and it falls on the shoulders of Rivers.
Yes, Rivers is a terrific NBA coach, but from a team-building standpoint he’s yet to prove that he can build a playoff contending squad – and that’s where the problem lies with the Clippers.
Back to his competition. In the Western Conference alone, the Los Angeles Clippers will have to get through the defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors, the reloaded San Antonio Spurs, the now-healthy Oklahoma City Thunder and the James Harden-led Houston Rockets – who are all still currently better than the Clippers.
Year after year, when NBA predictions are underway, there’s always a few people, if not more, that believe the Clippers will make the NBA Finals. This year will be no different. However, until the Los Angeles Clippers prove they can defeat and hang with the other best teams in the Western Conference, why should they be taken seriously as a championship contender?
They’ve done nothing, other than wet the bed in the playoffs, to warrant such consideration.
When you look at the Clippers’ starting five, it’s actually pretty good.
- PG – Chris Paul
- SG – J.J. Redick
- SF – Paul Pierce
- PF – Blake Griffin
- C – DeAndre Jordan
Add in the bench mob of Lance Stephenson, Josh Smith and Jamal Crawford, and their roster doesn’t look half bad. Although, do they have the bodies to guard a Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, or even a Kevin Durant for seven games?
When CP3 and Blake aren’t doing so hot, what happens? Is Austin Rivers going to have to run the point again if CP3 gets hurt or is tired? What is the team identity? Are they lob city, or not? Are they a halfcourt team? A defensive team?
Who knows, but one thing we do know is that they are not championship contenders.