The Clippers going to the Playoffs?
While watching yesterday’s preseason game of the Golden State Warriors vs. the Los Angeles Clippers I was hoping to get a further glimpse of young Warriors Anthony Randolph and Stephen Curry. However, while enjoying their progress, my attention began shifting towards the Clippers. The Clippers came back from a 72-57 halftime deficit to take the lead in the first 6 minutes of the 3rd quarter. They tightened the defense, and moved the ball around effortlessly. I am sold that the Clippers are making it into the playoffs.
Look for Baron's smile in that huge beard this season. (Credit: picapp.com)
The bottom line is the Clippers are going to be very good. Yeah, I said it. Baron Davis seems poised to resume playing the dominant style of basketball he did as a member of Golden State during the 2006-07 season.
The depth chart at every position is maddening. Their second and third option at every position is solid.
Here is a look the Clippers depth chart, as seen at espn.com:
This is a deep team when healthy (Credit: espn.com)
Sebastian Telfair started as PG for the Timberwolves for the majority of last season.
Marcus Camby, even at age 35, would start for a large handful of NBA teams.
Rasual Butler started 74 games for the Hornets last season, and offers superb 3 point shooting when spelling second year guard Eric Gordon.
DeAndre Jordan is only 21, and it is safe speculation he would have been a high lottery pick this season had he stayed in school another year. He has the opportunity to develop and grow around talented big men Chris Kaman and Camby.
With Houston looking to fall off hard this year due to the loss of Yao Ming, the potential for the Clippers to battle with the likes of Phoenix, Oklahoma City, and New Orleans for the 7th and 8th seeds in the Western Conference Playoffs seems more than realistic.
Here are some strong arguments as to why they will make the playoffs, based on the game last night:
- Blake Griffin is as good as his hype, if not better. He imposed his will upon the Warriors last night. He owned the Warriors offensively in the paint to the tune of 15 points and 9 rebounds in only 23 minutes. With the depth the Clippers have, his 5 fouls can be overlooked and should only decrease as he catches up to speed.
- If Griffin and Butler can come off the bench as they did last night, they will devour second unit defenses of opposing teams.
- The way Baron Davis distributed the ball last night was a solid sign that he has his mind right this season. Davis plays all star caliber basketball when he comes to play, and has both size and strength advantages over the majority of the point guards in the league.
- Eric Gordon has clearly improved his overall game since last season. If he continues to play with this form, the Clippers backcourt might end up being the best 1 and 2 giard combination in Los Angeles.
So you might want to get all your Clipper jokes out of your system sooner than later folks. The opportunity to make fun of the perennial NBA laughing stock franchise might be dwindling more rapidly than you think.
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Tue, Oct 13, 2009 by Adam Sedie
NBA Pre Season, Opinions