HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – Don’t let the crazy dunks and all of the above the rim stuff fool you. The Clippers work from long distance, too. They hit four straight 3-pointers to end the first half against the Thunder last night, a barrage that was just as impressive to these eyes as Blake Griffin‘s monster dunk over Kendrick Perkins.
And they’ll scrap with you if they have to, just ask the Lakers.
What isn’t lost in this storm of Clippers’ highlights is the fact that this team is playing in a way that delivers on all of the promise their acquisition of Chris Paul (and Caron Butler and Chauncey Billups) suggested they would.
A bruised ego for Perkins isn’t the only thing the Thunder left the Staples Center with last night. They got the same wake-up call as other teams that have faced the Clippers this season. The Clippers pose a clear and present danger to the order of the things in the Western Conference this season. And if you don’t believe it, just rewind the tape on their demolition of the league-leading Thunder on the second night of a Denver-Los Angeles back-to-back set.
In addition to the excitement that accompanies every game, the Clippers have shown themselves to be an extremely physical, scrappy bunch capable of shooting the cover off of the ball, they were 13-for-25 from deep last night and also shot .562 from the floor.
The fact that they are willing to share the glory, the byproduct of a leaders like Paul and Billups, is what really stands out. The Clippers had 28 assists against the Thunder, 24 of those from Paul, Billups and Mo Williams.
“They’re the best team we’ve played all season,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks told reporters after the game. “They have everything. They played well. They took it to us. We have work to do.”
