Can the Clippers Still Be Considered the Best Basketball Team in Los Angeles?
The Los Angeles Clippers are hoping to catch the eye of many NBA fans with their winning season after being projected as one of the worst teams in the league this year.
Under head coach Doc Rivers, the Clippers currently stand at fourth place in the tough Western Conference and do not show any sign of letting up easily. At this point in the season, they are currently undefeated against their division rivals and have only lost two home games. Even though all of this sounds good, many casual fans of the league probably have no idea as to why they were projected to do so badly before the season started.
Since 2011, the Clippers have been known as a top Western Conference team, but under different circumstances than the present. Back then, the Clippers had a dominating “Big 3” of all-stars Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan. In the past two seasons, however, the Clippers decided to part ways with all three of these players as they could not get the job done in the playoffs. With their top three players all splitting from the team’s roster, it would seem that the Clippers would once again become the laughing stock of the league for years to come, but so far into the 2018 season the exact opposite has happened.
After ditching their “Lob City” play style with the trading of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, the Clippers have adjusted to a new system of sharing the ball with everyone on offense. Scoring specialists Tobias Harris and Lou Williams, who were both gained in the trades with Paul and Griffin, have shown their capabilities of leading the team through nail biting finishes in one of the most ruthless Western Conferences ever seen. The team has also made up for the loss of DeAndre Jordan in the off season with the 7’3 rebounding specialist Boban Marjanovic. Role players such as Danilo Gallinari, Patrick Beverley, and Montrezl Harrell have also contributed on offense while giving a major spark to the team on the defensive end with their tenacious play styles.
Another major reason for the Clipper’s low expectations is the arrival of LeBron James to the Los Angeles Lakers. With LeBron signing a huge contract to the Clipper’s rival Los Angeles team, all the spotlight was put onto the Lakers while the Clippers were shunned until their impactful start to the season. With the Clippers now in the hunt for a top seed in the Western Conference, other teams battling for a playoff spot must now try even harder since their spot is now in jeopardy due to the forgotten Clippers.
The Clippers still must be extra careful, however, since a losing streak may drop them way lower into the standings due to how close the records are at the moment. The absence of a major all-star presence may also come into effect later on in the season for the Clippers because of how many teams in the Western Conference have superstar-caliber leaders that are willing to do anything to win. If the Clippers are able to hang on, expect to see them put up a fight each and every game as they try to prove to the league their true value and overachieve their poor expectations.
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