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Saturday, December 29, 2012

The Blake Show - Lob City






As of today, the Clippers are the best team in the NBA.

This is not my opinion but a fact. With the league’s best  record of 24-6 and currently riding a franchise record winning streak of 16 straight games the Clippers appear to be unstoppable.

Naysayers will understandably rush to check the Clippers’ schedule in hopes of derailing the “Lob City”  train with accusations of an easy schedule. Sadly they will be forced to find another way to stop this machine as wins against playoff bound teams such as the Grizzlies, Lakers, Spurs, Trail Blazers, Atlanta, Miami, Denver and Boston prove otherwise.

How did this happen you ask?

It all started with Blake Griffin getting drafted to the Clippers with the 1st overall pick in 2009 but who had to sit out his first year due to injury. The Clippers went 29-53 that season and finished outside the playoffs in the 12th spot near the bottom of the Western Conference. Griffin would be cleared to play in 2010-11 and shocked the world with his athletic dunks turning him into an instant All-Star and a household name around the world. That still wouldn’t be enough as the Clippers finished the year with only 3 more wins at 32-50 and even lower than the previous year at the 13th spot in the West to end the season.

As phenomenal as Blake was, he would need help and it came in the form of Chris Paul.

In several confusing hours that perhaps could only be explained with the help of X-Files FBI agent Fox Mulder, Chris Paul became a Los Angeles Clipper. The Clippers finished the 2011-12 season in 5th place with a 40-26 record, beat the Grizzlies in a 7 game 1st round playoff series but came up short getting swept in 4 games against the Spurs in the 2nd round.

With that we come full circle. The Clippers’ run and gun style known as “Lob City” are the new kings of L.A. even though 5 All-Stars make up the Los Angeles Lakers’ starting lineup. To be fair, the Clippers bench is riddled with talent and arguably the best 12 man roster in the NBA. The Clippers bench plays just as intense as the starters and are capable of closing out games giving the stars a well deserved breather keeping their legs rested for the next game.

All this to say the Clippers deserve to be where they are and are have had fun getting here. They’re not only destined to make noise in the playoffs but if they can avoid their Kryptonite (Grizzlies and Spurs) who slow the pace of the game essentially shutting down “Lob City”, they could be headed to the NBA Finals. With a team history of no Division Titles, Conference Titles or Championships since the team was founded in 1970, even naysayers have to admit it would be fun to watch history made one lob at a time.

Lob City Rises
NBA Seasons:
--------------------------------------------------------------
2008-2009 : 14th (19-63)
2009-2010 : 12th (29-53)
2010-2011 : 13th (32-50) Enter Blake Griffin
2011-2012 : 5th (40-26) Enter Chris Paul

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