Time is almost up for the Los Angeles Clippers. It's been five years since LA's big three of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and Deandre Jordan was formed and they still don't have a single Western Conference final appearance to show for it. With Paul and Griffin set for free agency this season they'll have to at least make it to the NBA's final four if they're looking to keep their core together.
With Kevin Durant moving from OKC to Golden State, there's one less contender at the top of the West and that eases the path for the Clippers to get a top-3 seed in the conference. As a matter of fact, they could very well finish in second place behind Golden State. San Antonio is certainly in contention for one of those top two spots but their two most important backcourt players (Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili) are a combined 73 years old. Their defense shouldn't fall too far from where it was after the retirement of Tim Duncan but going from Duncan to Pau Gasol is certainly a downgrade on that side of the ball that could give them trouble at times during the regular season. The Clippers field a deep unit that ranked top-10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency last year on their way to the 4th seed in the Western Conference. Even more, they did all this without Blake Griffin for the majority of the season. Blake Griffin's return to the team should allow them to vault towards the top of the Western Conference. However, it's not the regular season that should be of concern to the Clippers.
If the Clippers want to breakthrough to the Western Conference Finals and potentially an NBA title, it will be key to maximize the value of Blake Griffin. There's no question Griffin is one of the most explosive athletes in the league but he also has elite playmaking ability. In other words, Blake Griffin is at his best with the ball in his hands playing a point forward type of role. The problem is that it takes the ball out of the hands of possibly the best all-around point guard in the league, Chris Paul. However, Paul also has the ability to play off-ball effectively due to his shooting ability. Griffin's range doesn't stretch past the 3-point line and in order to minimize that weakness, it's best to put the ball in his hands on the wing and in the post where he can dissect the defense and attack or distribute to the Clippers' plethora of shooters.
We've seen how far the Clippers can go with Chris Paul dominating the ball. They won't truly reach their peak until they explore what Griffin can do with an expanded role on the ball offensively. If they don't test it out, one of the two could be playing elsewhere next season after another failed postseason run in LA.
