Why the Los Angeles Clippers Can Make a Playoff Run

For the past few years, the Los Angeles Clippers have been the joke of the NBA playoffs. They always have an early exit, most times by choking. Such as last year when they blew a 3-0 series lead to the Houston Rockets or the year before when they looked dominate against the Golden State Warriors, just to get steamrolled by the Oklahoma City Thunder. So yes, they have a bad track record, but that can all change this year.

Many people suspect that the Golden State Warriors or the San Antonio Spurs will be representing the west in the NBA Finals. However many people are sleeping on one team, and no this team is not the Oklahoma City Thunder. This team is of course the Los Angeles Clippers. Now to most this will sound ludicrous, but it really can happen. Even with the Warriors and Spurs, the Clipper can run the tables. How will they do that? Many reasons quite honestly.

First things first, this is a very good team. Even if the record is down from last year, this is a much more complete team. The defense has upgraded, especially with DeAndre Jordan stepping up his game even more from last year. Also in the favor of the Clippers, Blake Griffin has returned just 6 games before the playoffs. This couldn’t come at a better time since the team is now complete. Griffin’s defensive play will be seen more as the defense has struggled since losing him.

Another reason the Clippers have a chance is their bench. Everyone said that the Clippers had a terrible bench. That was until that bench played the Thunder to a 2-point game. The bench, specifically Austin Rivers, has shown that if given the chance that they can ball. Most teams lack a good bench now in the NBA, but it’s such an important aspect of the game. With proper use of their bench, the Clippers can make a deep playoff run.

Of course, no one expects them to make it to the Finals, but they have the talent to make it to the Western Conference Finals. However, it’s not that far out there that they have a chance to make it to the NBA Finals. Of course this will all depend on how the first round goes. The best case for the Clippers is that the Spurs or Warriors get knocked out in the first round. Of course the Spurs getting knocked off is a better chance than the Warriors, but you never know what can happen in the NBA. It seems we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.