Are the Clippers Finally For Real?

bleacherreport.com

For the past 2-3 years, the Los Angeles Clippers have been one of the most exciting teams in all of basketball. Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan became household names with their posterizing dunks and have helped “Lob City” reach the NBA Playoffs in each season since 2012. However, they have never made it past the Western Conference Semis, and have always left people wondering, “When will they be a serious contender?”

After their 128-95 demolition of the Houston Rockets in Game 4 to take a 3-1 series lead, it looks as though “Lob City” have made their doubters rethink the Clippers.

Under the leadership of head coach Doc Rivers, the Clippers have looked, at times, like the best team in the entire NBA. Rivers may have a new legendary big three outside of Boston with Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan.

Blake Griffin has been utterly dominant this postseason, as he had 21 points and eight rebounds in the win. Chris Paul has been the vocal leader for the Clippers and hasn’t re-aggravated his hamstring injury yet in the series. DeAndre has been the focus of the “Hack a Shaq/Hack a Jordan” strategy by both the Rockets and Spurs, and although he has missed most of his free throws, he has been tremendous on defense and on the glass.

Perhaps the biggest story of this series is the bench production the Clippers have received outside of former Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford. Probably the biggest surprise has been Austin Rivers, former #11 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. During the first few years of his career, Rivers has at times looked lost and confused out on the court, but in the playoffs he seems to have found the confidence he needs to rejuvenate his young career.

In this series, Rivers has averaged 16 Points Per game (PPG) while shooting at an impressive Field Goal Percentage of 58.8 percent. These are numbers coming from a guy who was a forgotten man on a lackluster bench, averaging single digits on 40.9 percent shooting this regular season. If the Clippers want to be taken seriously as title contenders, Rivers must continue to produce with efficiency.

Overall, the Clippers are looking like they are legit. Chris Paul may finally get the ring that he has longed for and Doc Rivers could very possibly add to his collection a championship ring that doesn’t have a Celtics logo on it.