NBA Playoffs 2013: Los Angeles Clippers Playoff Profile

Chris Paul will be front and center as the Los Angeles Clippers head into the 2013 NBA playoffs. (Flickr.com photo by Nikk_LA)

To say the Los Angeles Clippers don’t have a rich tradition of postseason success would be akin to saying that Cheerios are a somewhat popular breakfast cereal—it’s stating the obvious.

The Clippers head into their regular-season finale at the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday, April 17, and they have earned consecutive postseason berths for just the third time in the franchise’s 43 seasons.

In addition to 2012 and this season, the only other times the Clippers have reached the playoffs in consecutive seasons were in 1992 and 1993 and the franchise’s dynasty years—a stretch of three seasons from 1974-76 when they reached the postseason as the Buffalo Braves.

To put it another way, the Clippers share the Staples Center in Los Angeles with the Lakers, a franchise that has won 16 championships and reached the postseason in 59 of its 65 seasons (and could make it 60-for-65 with a win over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday).

The Clippers, on the other hand, have won three playoff series … and one of those was a best-of-3 mini-series over the Philadelphia 76ers in 1976.

Last year, the Clippers were 40-26 and finished second behind the Lakers in the Pacific Division. As the fifth seed in the Western Conference playoffs, the Clippers knocked off the Memphis Grizzlies in a grueling seven-game first-round marathon before being swept by the San Antonio Spurs in the conference semifinals.

Current Vitals

The Clippers are 55-26 with one game remaining and have already shattered the franchise’s record for wins in a season (the Braves won 49 games in 1974-75).

This season, the Clips won their first-ever division title and can lock up home-court advantage for the first round with a win at Sacramento or a Memphis loss to the Utah Jazz on Wednesday. If the Denver Nuggets should find a way to lose at home to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, the Clips would move up to the No. 3 seed in the West with a win over the Kings.

Team Leaders

Scoring: Blake Griffin (18.1 points per game)

Rebounding: Blake Griffin (8.3 per game)

Assists: Chris Paul (9.7 per game)

Steals: Chris Paul (2.4 per game)

Blocks: DeAndre Jordan (1.4 per game)

Emotional Leader

Caron Butler is a veteran leader for the Clippers. (Photo: NBA.com)

Caron Butler, the 33-year-old small forward, has grown into the role of veteran leader for the Clippers. He made his return after missing four games with a sore knee on Tuesday, April 16, and tossed in a game-high 22 points—including 4-of-7 shooting from deep—in a 93-77 win over the Trail Blazers.

Butler told the Racine (Wis.) Journal-Times in January that he has reached a point in his career where winning isn’t just the most important thing—it’s the only thing.

“At the beginning of last year, I started saying, ‘All in,’” Butler told the Journal-Times. “It takes everybody from the bottom of an organization to win a championship. From the film people, to the training staff, the strength and conditioning people to the players and coaches, we needed everybody all in.”

Butler may no longer be playing like the two-time All-Star he was with the Washington Wizards in 2007 and 2008, but he’s still contributing to the Clippers. While averaging a career-low 9.2 shots per game, Butler is scoring 10.4 points and has buried a career-best 125 triples this season, shooting at a 38.3 percent clip from deep.

“Caron’s just another guy who understands what it takes to win,” coach Vinny Del Negro said. “He has been through the process and that is invaluable. He is always being a leader and not always by talking. He’s showing the guys the right way to do things.”

Blake Griffin has to take the next step in his maturation for the Clippers to advance in the postseason. Photo Credit: Keith Allison, Flickr.com

Player to Watch

Blake Griffin was solid, but not spectacular, in his first go-around in the postseason in 2012. What the Clippers need Griffin to do in 2013, if they are to make a substantial run, is to take the next step in the maturation of a star player—dominate in the playoffs.

Griffin is averaging a career-low 18.1 points and 8.3 rebounds this season, but he’s also averaging a career-low 32.5 minutes per game. That reduced workload during the regular-season grind could—and should—translate into having more energy for the playoffs.

His per-36-minute numbers show that he is averaging 20.1 points per 36 minutes, down slightly from a career mark of 20.7. But his 22.7 player efficiency rating (PER) is far above the norm of 15 and better than his mark of 21.9 as a rookie, when he set his career bests in scoring (21.3 points per game) and rebounding (11.4 boards a night).

He also has a career-high 10.8 win shares this season.

Last year in the playoffs against the Grizzlies and Spurs, Griffin averaged 19.2 points and seven rebounds per game while shooting 50 percent. Those numbers need to step up if the Clippers are to advance to the promised land … which for this franchise could just mean a first-ever appearance in the conference finals.

First-Round Matchup: Undetermined

The Clippers go into the season finale still uncertain as to who their opponent will be to open the playoffs. Because they won the Pacific, the Clips are guaranteed no worse than a No. 4 seed, which would mean an opening-round series with Memphis. However, they could still move up to No. 3, which would translate into a first-round meeting with either the Golden State Warriors or Houston Rockets.

Their most likely opponent, though, is the Grizzlies. Los Angeles won the season series from Memphis 3-1. The teams split the two games in the Southland (a 101-92 Clippers victory on Oct. 31 and a 96-85 win for the Grizzlies on March 13), while the Clippers swept in Memphis (99-73 on Jan. 14 and 91-87 on Saturday, April 13).

So how important is home-court advantage in this series? Huge and that is in spite of the regular-season results. Playoff basketball is a different animal from the regular season. Teams can focus on matchups without having to worry about four games in five nights or the second night of back-to-backs or preparing for two other teams that are next on the schedule.

That tilts the advantage in the direction of the Clippers. Memphis has a terrific frontcourt with Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, but Mike Conley—while much improved—loses the head-to-head battle with Paul at the point. The athleticism of Griffin and DeAndre Jordan coupled with Paul’s ability to run an offense turn the tide in favor of L.A.

Prediction: Clippers in seven … again