NBA: Grading would-be playoff teams in the Western Conference

2. LA Clippers (44-20)

Grade: A

It would be easy to give the Clippers an A+ but up to this point, they haven’t really been the most impressive team in the world. There have been many times in which they’ve played down to their competition and really provided us with some stinkers. That is bound to happen throughout an 82-game season, especially with the Clippers gearing up for the playoffs, not taking the regular season as seriously as other teams.

Even with all of the load management and games in which the Clippers haven’t looked lie themselves, they’re sitting in the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. It is scary how good this team can be when playing at their full potential. Even in their only loss to their crosstown rivals at the Staples Center, it went down to the wire with Lou Williams and Marcus Morris scoring a combined five points while Avery Bradley, uncharacteristically, went off for 24.

If I’m the Clippers, I like my chances going forward with a result like that against my biggest threat.

It’s quite obvious that the Clippers are a team that is truly focused on the playoffs and doesn’t seem to care where they are seeded. With the amount of talent they have, lead by the reigning finals MVP in Kawhi Leonard and a championship head coach in Doc Rivers, they should be the title favorites.