We are one month into the NBA season and everything seems pretty normal.
Cleveland and Golden State are cruising through teams, the 76ers and Nets are still awful, Steph Curry leads the league in three-pointers and Russell Westbrook leads the league in triple-doubles.
However, there is one surprise. The Los Angeles Clippers hold the best record in the NBA. They sit with a pretty 13-2 record and the best start to a season in franchise history.
After five years with their core of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, it seems everything is coming together for the Clippers. They currently sit second in both offensive and defensive ratings and not only are they winning, they are destroying teams. They have the highest margin of victory, winning each contest by 13 points.
On Tuesday the Clippers took down the formidable Raptors by eight points. After the game, the Raptors head coach, Dwane Casey, called the Clippers “the best team in the league.”
The Clippers have been a championship contender every season since they secured Paul from New Orleans, they just crumble in the playoffs. Last year they were upset in the first round by the Portland Trailblazers. The year before that they blew a 3-1 series lead against the Houston Rockets.
For Clippers to win it all this season, they will likely have to go through the star-studded Golden State Warriors and defeat the reigning champions, the Cleveland Cavaliers, which does seem like mission impossible. However, if the Clippers can maintain their form throughout the season and into the postseason, they might be able to prove all the doubters wrong.
This team does have all of the ingredients for to be the 2017 NBA champions. They have one of the league’s best floor generals in Chris Paul, an ultra-skilled power forward in Blake Griffin, an elite shot blocker and rebounder in DeAndre Jordan, a deadly sharpshooter in JJ Redick and a wing defender in Luc Mbah a Moute.
Throw in one of the top coaches in the NBA in Doc Rivers and a productive bench and you’ve got yourself one hell of a basketball team.
Their stars are in their prime, yet, they don’t completely rely on them. They don’t need Griffin to score 40 points or Paul to have 15 assists every game. They are playing great team basketball and reaping the rewards.
The Clippers verse the Cavaliers in a week and play the warriors shortly after that. These two games will put the Clippers to the test and we should have a better idea on how much this team really has improved.
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