Hoops Habit
Fansided

NBA: Western Conference Contenders And Pretenders

By Gerald Bourguet

Mar 4, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) attempts to drive the ball past Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (33) during the game at Toyota Center. The Grizzlies defeated the Rockets 102-100. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 4, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) attempts to drive the ball past Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (33) during the game at Toyota Center. The Grizzlies defeated the Rockets 102-100. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 9
Next
NBA
Mar 27, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul (3) checks a cut on the neck of forward Blake Griffin (32) after he dove for a ball during the second quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. The Clippers won 119-98. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

No. 5: Los Angeles Clippers – Pretender

By record, the Los Angeles Clippers should be the fourth seed in the Western Conference. But since the Portland Trail Blazers lead the Northwest Division, they’re automatically guaranteed a top-four seed. Luckily for Lob City, record decides home-court advantage, so if everything holds the same, they will host the Blazers in the first round.

Thanks to the superhuman efforts of Chris Paul and DeAndre Jordan being possessed by the spirit of Bill Russell, the Clippers were able to stay afloat when Blake Griffin missed 15 games due to a staph infection in his elbow. Now that Griffin is back, the chemistry hasn’t been thrown off and Lob City might be one of the more overlooked teams in the West.

Lob City’s current seven-game win streak looks better than it really is considering their level of competition during that span, but beating teams you’re supposed to beat — much like the Spurs are doing right now — is the sign of a great team. Portland could be in trouble in the first round (assuming current matchups hold), especially since they haven’t been the same team since Wesley Matthews went down.

But do you see the Clippers taking down the Warriors, Grizzlies or Rockets in a seven-game series given the way Chris Paul has reverted back into a mortal in the playoffs for the last few seasons? CP3, Griffin and Jordan are a great trio, and Jamal Crawford is instant offense off the bench when healthy. But can the Clips really depend on the likes of Austin Rivers, Hedo Turkoglu, Glen Davis, Matt Barnes and the rest of the bench pu-pu platter in the playoffs? I say no.

Next: No. 4