The Los Angeles Clippers are red hot as they currently ride the momentum of a seven game winning streak as they took down the Atlanta Hawks last night at Staples.
Their winning streak has been very impressive thus far as they captured victories over current playoff contenders in the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns. In each of these games, the Clippers punched their opponents in the mouth with a physical style of defense and turned up the energy by scoring more than 100 points in each of these contests.
Heck, they were even able to put up a franchise record of 142 points in the now-famous onslaught against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday. The offense looked unstoppable that night with all five starters scoring in double figures and the bench helping out with production from newcomers Glen Davis and Danny Granger, who each contributed 10 points. The additions of these two players are looking like they were really good moves that can help the Clippers’ bench if they can continue to give them something each night.
The Clippers have been thriving under the much improved play from Blake Griffin, who has taken a more vital role in the offense. He’s taken command of the scoring role in putting up over 20 points in each game and facilitating the passing game to give the Clippers another dynamic on offense. Blake’s emergence under Rivers this season has been a very welcoming site that gives the Clippers a legitimate shot to advance far in the post season to give the franchise its first NBA Finals birth.
However, the play of Griffin will greatly determine the immediate future of sustaining their winning streak in the season. The Clippers next two games will be tough as they face the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors who are playing for their playoff lives. These opponents are more than capable of snapping the streak so they will need Griffin to replicate the same production as last night where he put up 27 points and held down the paint on defense. I expect the Clippers to keep the steak alive through Griffin’s production and having home court advantage can’t hurt at all as they’re (26-5) at home this season.
With the team playing this well right now, there’s still much to be seen if they can sustain this performance level in a playoff series because they have failed to reach the conference finals in the last couple postseasons. However, that could change as the Clippers are getting stronger with each game and proving they can play with the best in the league. The Clippers are smelling blood in the water right now and hoping this winning streak is a foreshadow of things to come in June.