Los Angeles Clippers: 2015-16 Season Outlook

For years now, the Los Angeles Clippers have been a legitimate championship-caliber in the Western Conference without ever actually winning one. Even when the Clippers were one game away from reaching their first conference finals in franchise history last year, they became the ninth team in NBA history to blow a 3-1 series lead, falling to the Houston Rockets in seven games.

That kind of historic collapse nearly led to the departure of DeAndre Jordan, a defensive game-changer who would’ve been impossible to replace at that stage of free agency. Thanks to his infamous case of indecision and change of heart, the Clippers were able to retain their monster rebounder and alley-oop target, keeping their title window open for at least one more year.

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Despite being one of the better teams in the NBA for years now, the Clippers have failed to live up to their billing in the playoffs. Part of that has to do with the outright brutality of life in the Western Conference, but with Chris Paul not getting any younger, the 2015-16 season represents the best chance this team has ever had of winning a championship.

With Jordan back onboard and the Clippers addressing their miserable bench from last season, it’s title-or-bust for the new premier basketball franchise in Los Angeles. The question is, will the Clippers finally get the job done?

2014-15 Vitals
56-26, 2nd in Pacific Division, 3rd in Western Conference
106.7 PPG (2nd)/100.1 OPPG (16th)
112.4 Offensive Rating (1st)/105.5 Defensive Rating (15th)

Team Leaders
Scoring: Blake Griffin, 21.9 PPG
Rebounding: DeAndre Jordan, 15.0 RPG
Assists: Chris Paul, 10.2 APG
Steals: Chris Paul, 1.9 SPG
Blocks: DeAndre Jordan, 2.2 BPG

Honors
All-NBA Team (2nd): Chris Paul
All-NBA Team (3rd): Blake Griffin
All-NBA Team (3rd): DeAndre Jordan
NBA All-Defensive Team (1st): DeAndre Jordan

Next: 2015-16 Roster