The Clippers’ Best Chance To Win It All Is Right Now
The Clippers came into Staples Center on Saturday night with a mission, and the Grizzlies were the ones to suffer the damage. Led once again by Blake Griffin and J.J. Redick’s 18 points, the Clippers outlasted a shorthanded Memphis squad in a game that saw several lead changes throughout the second-half.
The game was as much a statement victory as it was about playoff seeding as both teams are heading into the post-season in the loaded Western Conference.
Right now the Clippers are locked in the race for the second-seed with only two games remaining before the playoffs next week. Currently, the three teams tied for second place are the Spurs, Grizzlies, and Clippers. Of the three, the Clippers are currently on a five-game win streak. The defending champion Spurs have won 11 straight.
Oct 30, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer reacts to a basket in the second half of the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Staples Center. Clippers won 93-90. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
When looking at the remaining schedule, the Clippers have the benefit of easier competition. Their remaining games are against the already eliminated Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets. By comparison, the Spurs have one game remaining against the fringe playoff Pelicans.
The Grizzlies have the toughest road to the second seed as they face the best team in the league in the Golden State Warriors and the playoff chasing Indiana Pacers.
The Clippers also have the added benefit of the tie-break against the Grizzlies, due to the fact that the Clippers have the better record against Western Conference teams they would take the second seed if both teams end with the same record.
Here at LA Sports Hub we’ve already talked about how the Clippers have already become the team of the here and now in Los Angeles. The team now faces the pressure of breaking through into the upper-echelon of the NBA elite. Similar to the Grizzlies and Pacers in recent years, the Clippers must make their way to the championship game if they are to have their chance at changing team perception.
In 2013, the Grizzlies made their way to the Conference final before being swept by the San Antonio Spurs. Last year, the Pacers fought to get the best record in the East only to lose in five games to the Miami Heat.
Since then, perception of both teams — in the Pacers case due to injuries and roster changes — is that they are playoff caliber competition but lack the special talent and chemistry to truly contend against tried champions such as the Spurs or then-defending Miami Heat.
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For the Clippers, the second-seed would give the team the advantage of not facing the Warriors until the Conference Final as well as a first round matchup with the Dallas Mavericks whom they have defeated in two of three meetings this season. Regardless of Blake Griffin’s comments in March, home-court for the Clips would provide a massive advantage in what might go down as most competitive post-season in western conference history.
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With the impending free-agency of DeAndre Jordan, the Clippers have found their groove literally without a game to spare. The return of Jamal Crawford to the line-up is a huge morale boost to a team that feared it may not have their effective guard in the trying months ahead. From the father-and-son duo to stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, the team’s chemistry is firing on all cylinders.
The controversy of Donald Sterling has been replaced with the inconspicuous and ecstatic Steve Ballmer. In a sense, this Clippers squad in particular has arrived at the right time in Los Angeles basketball and the right place in NBA history. That said, the feel good story of the NBA will be nothing but yesterdays news if they don’t make it to June.
Teams have waited decades to get the momentum the Clippers have now and this season might well be the only one where so many parts of their story come together.
There is one week left until the playoffs and the Clippers will begin making their final push for the second-seed on Monday against the Denver Nuggets.