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Los Angeles Clippers: Why ‘Championship Or Bust’ Mentality Is Wrong

By Cameron Stewart

Jan 30, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) talks with head coach Doc Rivers during the second quarter of a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 30, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) talks with head coach Doc Rivers during the second quarter of a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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The NBA season tips off tonight and it could mark the beginning of the Los Angeles Clippers‘ first championship team in franchise history. Most likely, however, that will not be the case.

The Clippers come into the season on the short list of contenders and their roster is easily the most talented group the franchise has ever enjoyed. Doc Rivers shored up the team’s bench issues and the big three of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan returns, which has the team rightfully having championship aspirations.

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The most important person in the Clippers organization, president of basketball operations and head coach Doc Rivers has stated that if the team falls short of winning a title, it could be time to change the roster. Just take a look at what he said in an interview with Zach Lowe of Grantland:

"“We’re right on the borderline. I have no problem saying that. I’m a believer that teams can get stale. After a while, you don’t win. It just doesn’t work. We’re right at the edge. Oklahoma City is on the edge. Memphis, too. We just have to accept it.”"

Perhaps Rivers was simply trying to light a fire under his team and create a sense of urgency to fulfill their potential, but maybe he truly believes that another season falling short of a title will mark the end of the “Lob City” era. If the latter is the case, Rivers has got it all wrong.

The Clippers are a damn good team and there’s no doubt that they should be eyeing the Larry O’Brien trophy, but if they do not, it would be foolish to dismantle the team or even to tweak their core.

Chris Paul is 30 years old and possesses possibly the best basketball IQ in the game. Blake Griffin is 26 and is scratching the beginning of his prime as an all-around power forward. DeAndre Jordan is 27, has improved on his game every season since entering the league as a raw big man, and has put himself among the league’s best rebounders and shot blockers.

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This season is the best opportunity for the Clippers to win it all since they entered the NBA in 1970 as the Buffalo Braves, but a failure to do so shouldn’t result in it being the last chance this group has to capture the title. At the basic level, the Clippers have a 3.33 percent chance of winning the title. Realistically, it’s probably more at 10-15 percent, with Basketball-Reference having their title odds at 15.9 percent.

Even the most optimistic fan would say the Clippers are probably behind the Warriors, Spurs and Cavaliers. Best-case scenario, there’s a 20 percent chance, which also means there’s at least an 80 percent chance that the Clippers don’t win it all. Only one team can call themselves the champs by season’s end and 29 teams can’t. It’s just a cruel reality.

There is no shame in being a perennial 55-win team that loses to a better opponent in the playoffs. Since the Clippers acquired Chris Paul and elevated themselves to the level of being a contender, they’ve never lost to a team with a worse record in the playoffs. It’s just how the NBA goes. The better team usually wins.

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    • Look at the Dallas Mavericks since Mark Cuban took over. In every full season that Cuban has been the team owner, the Mavericks have never failed to finish with at least a .500 record. This has resulted in only one NBA title in a year where some breaks went their way and the entire team got hot.

    Do you think Mavericks fans prior to winning the title were upset with the team’s consistent 50+ win seasons that resulted in losses to Tim Duncan‘s Spurs or Kobe Bryant‘s Lakers? No, any fan with common sense should be satisfied with cheering on a team that consistently was one of the league’s best 10 teams. The Mavericks also showed that sticking with their guns can result in a successful pursuit of the title by sticking with things even after many failed attempts to win the title.

    Remember when Dirk Nowitzki was labeled as a choker and someone who just didn’t have the “it” factor or intangibles to be a No. 1 option for a champion? Those days are long gone since he proved those critics wrong in 2011. That championship wouldn’t have happened if the Mavericks abandoned their belief in Nowitzki and a band of veterans who had fallen short elsewhere for many years.

    The Clippers’ core of Paul, Griffin and Jordan will win at least 50 games a season as long as the three are relatively healthy for the majority of the season. With that type of talent and high floor for success, why break that up?

    The Western Conference is stacked once again, but the other contenders have long-term questions that could lead to their demise. Even with Kawhi Leonard and newly acquired LaMarcus Aldridge, the Spurs won’t be as strong whenever Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker hang it up.

    The Warriors bring back every important player from their title run but will have to make decisions as their young players earn bigger paydays when they hit free agency. The Thunder are capped out and the health of Kevin Durant is a major concern as he makes his return from foot troubles that can spell doom for superstars, as well as the uncertainty that Durant will stay with the Thunder when he becomes a free agent after this season.

    The contender designation for the Rockets relies on Dwight Howard being both healthy and playing near the level he was at in his Magic days, something that hasn’t been done consistently in a few years. New contenders will surely arise (hey there, Anthony Davis), but the Clippers should take a look around them and realize that this year shouldn’t be a do-or-die season.

    If the Clippers stay with their core and surround them with quality pieces like they have in place this season, their window could outlast their rivals in the West.

    Let me be clear: If the Clippers fall short again this season, everyone in the organization deserves to feel upset and disappointed. The goal for every good team is to win it all. In the NBA, it doesn’t come often that a team is a true contender.

    I’m just saying if the team doesn’t win it all, it doesn’t mean this season was a complete failure and key players need to go for the simple reason that it didn’t win a championship. Win or lose, the core and many of the key players should return in 2016-17 for another season of 55 wins and another shot to win it all.

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