Clippers More Than Just a Highlight Reel?
The image of (Blake) Griffin rising above Perkins’ head for the dunk after receiving a bounce pass from Clippers guard Chris Paul and then getting bear-hugged from behind by Clippers center DeAndre Jordan is easily the high-water mark of “Lob City.” What Griffin did to (Kendrick) Perkin’s head was far more impressive than what Griffin did to former Knicks center Timofey Mozgov’s manhood last season. The Clippers weren’t going to be seeing Mozgov or the Knicks in the Finals last year, but they hope to see Perkins and the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals this year and for the foreseeable future.
“They’re the best team we’ve played all season,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks said after the game. “They have everything. They played well. They took it to us. We have work to do.”
While everyone wants to compare the Clippers to the Lakers and create a rivalry between Los Angeles’ two NBA teams, the Clippers weren’t built to beat the Lakers. Have you seen the Lakers lately? What NBA executive is losing sleep trying to figure out how to take down an aging team hovering around the .500 mark that can’t score 100 points?
The Clippers aren’t trying to win Los Angeles; they’re trying to win an NBA title and were using a blueprint similar to Oklahoma City’s to get there for the past two years. That was until this offseason, when Paul essentially forced the Clippers to rip up those plans and fast-forward their rebuilding project.
Loading ...
