The Clippers Are Finally Taking the next step
It’s just time. At the age of 31, Chris Paul has witnessed his best friends LeBron James and Dwayne Wade both win three championships since their early 2000s arrival to the professional game. What boggles us about the elite point guard is that he’s never been to a conference finals.
While the Los Angeles Clippers would upset the San Antonio Spurs in the opening round of the 2015 playoffs, they would suffer major setbacks last year with injuries to Blake Griffin and the captain.
The team did minimal changes to their roster, as Doc Rivers got his pass last year from some believing he was under-achieving. This season, though, with the San Antonio Spurs losing Tim Duncan and Oklahoma City Thunder without their other superstar, the field is wide open for Lob City make a push and challenge the Golden State Warriors.
We’re not forgetting the Memphis Grizzlies, who are the Clipper’s krypton, but they seem to always have injuries at the wrong time with key players. Looking back at the Warriors matchup, Golden State exposes DeAndre Jordan’s defensive role at the five, adding Draymond Green at the five, which he has to respect the open jump shot from their kicker.
This gets tricky with the addition of Durant, because they can now switch off and have him conserve energy on defense guarding an inferior three from Los Angeles, which Blake and DeAndre’s point production will be vital for them at least winning a few games in the series.
However, the biggest blame will be at the helm of Coach Doc for not addressing the team’s roster last year. It’ll be a fun ride Clippers fans throughout the playoffs, but their eventual endgame will burn – especially if they have to witness Durant drinking champagne at Staples Center.