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LA Clippers Are Doing Just Fine Out West

By Keith Rivas

Jan 10, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (right) loses the ball as New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday (left) attempts to steal the ball during the fourth quarter at Staples Center. The Los Angeles Clippers won in overtime 114-111. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 10, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (right) loses the ball as New Orleans Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday (left) attempts to steal the ball during the fourth quarter at Staples Center. The Los Angeles Clippers won in overtime 114-111. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports /
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With a recent overtime victory over New Orleans, the LA Clippers showed us that they can win the ugly games and they aren’t going anywhere.

Now that their overtime debacle with the New Orleans Pelicans are behind them, the Los Angeles Clippers are getting a few days off to prepare for their big test against the Miami Heat on Wednesday.

Although the Clippers are on a nine game winning streak as it stands right now, the upper echelon and elite of the Western Conference are just that much better.

While the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors continue tearing through the league in historic fashion, still not reaching ten losses combined at this point in the season, Los Angeles still has their eyes well set on Oklahoma City.

Right now, the Thunder hold the third spot in the Western Conference, but what once was a choke hold on that prime position has become a one game gap — one that the Clippers are more than capable of closing.

Should they take care of Oklahoma City sooner rather than later, they’ll be able to focus on themselves as they would then officially separate themselves from the rest of the conference.

They’re the perfect in-between, looking at the situation honestly.

Born to be in the middle, the identity of the LA Clippers seemed to be persevering and winning when nobody thinks that they well; this way of thinking goes back to the playoff serious against San Antonio last season.

And trust me, they’re still feeling bitter about how things went with the Houston Rockets in the next round.

Should they end the season as the three seed and the rest of the playoff picture stay the same, chances are they’d be up against the Memphis Grizzlies with home court advantage being theirs to own.

It’d be another chance for them to try and identify with those closest to Staples Center — themselves.

The Grizzlies play a grind-it-out style of basketball, but the thing about the Clippers is that they wouldn’t have a problem getting physical.

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If Los Angeles ended up as the fourth seed, they’d play a team like the Dallas Mavericks.

Dallas is more unpredictable than Memphis, so that might actually cause more of a problem for the Clippers.

Instead of flaking without Blake Griffin, who they haven’t had active for a few weeks now. the team has really come together and played as a full unit.

What’ll make them dangerous in the post-season is the leadership of Chris Paul and Paul Pierce who are two guys bent on making more of a name for themselves and getting their team where they feel they rightly belong.

Next: Ryan Kelly Recalled From D-League

The championship conversation — but they have to earn, and they know that.

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