1. Blake Griffin. Four years ago the Clippers decided the make Blake Griffin the center of the franchise so number one has to be his continued all-star play this season. Griffin's stats such as points and rebounds per game are slightly down, but that is mostly due to not needing to play as much. His field goal and free throw percentages are both up which has made his play more efficient and as his jump shot keeps improving his numbers will continue to increase.
2. Deandre Jordan. I have bashed Deandre Jordan a lot the last couple of years, but he is finally starting to show some actual skill. His confidence and shooting game have improved greatly. His improvement has been a great help to the Clippers, not only on offense, but his blocked shots and rebounding has improved as well. However, I will keep criticizing Jordan until he learns how to make a free throw.
3. Jamal Crawford. The best signing the Clippers made this offseason was bringing in Jamal Crawford. He has energized the Clippers and been a scoring machine. He not only leads them in points per game, but he has taken the burden off of Paul and Griffin. His high field goal percentage may not remain throughout the season, but if he continues averaging nearly as many points as he has so far, the Clippers will go far.
4. Matt Barnes. Another energy guy off the bench for the Clippers has been Matt Barnes. I have always thought he was a big jerk and was not sure how to feel when the Clippers brought him back, but so far I am happy they did. He has continued what he was doing for the Lakers, by providing tough defense and seeming to always be in the right place at the right time. There is no way he loses major playing time as the season progresses even when Grant Hill returns to the court.
5. Eric Bledsoe is said by many to be the most underrated point guard in the league. His quickness, jumping and ball handling has improved this season. He could easily be a starter on many other teams right now (lakers perhaps?) and has shown that he could very well be an all star in this league. It probably did not hurt that he has had Chris Paul and Chauncy Billups to help him develop the last year and a half.
6. Chris Paul. That's about all I need to say. Not only does the guy know how to rack up assists, but he is one of the best at making big shots at the end of games. Already won a couple this year because of that and should have won the Warriors game, but due to a bad call it's one of the Clippers' two losses.
7. The big back ups. I'm talking about Ryan Hollins, Lamar Odom and Ronny Turiaf. They have done pretty well so far this year, but that's not the biggest reason the Clippers are the best. After all Reggie Evans and Kenyon Martin did a pretty good job last year. The potential for this year's backup bigs though is much larger considering Lamar Odom could return to sixth man form. If that happens Clippers will clinch the west. I would bet on that if Odom averages more than 10 points in the second half of the season the Clippers will win the west.
8. Vinny Del Negro. His improved coaching is possibly due to not worrying about getting fired, but more likely due to the familiarity of being with Griffin and Paul. The Clippers have looked much better this year and it would be wrong to not give some credit to the coach. He might not be hall of fame coach material, but his coaching is more than sufficient.
9. Chauncy Billups hasnt even played yet this season, but he has acted as another coach to the Clippers. Every game you can see him on the sideline giving direction to the team and has been a big cheerleader from the bench. Once he returns, the Clippers become the best team in the NBA. His return will benefit just about everyone around him on the court as well. (except Willie Green, who probably will become a benchwarmer).
10. Clipper fans!! To those of us who have not given up hope over the years, it is hard to believe there is finally a Clippers team that we can believe in. Every game is sold out and the hope has never been higher. If what they say is true, the Clippers try to win every game for their fans and if so the fans have helped the Clippers win many games this year already. The home court advantage has helped the Clippers greatly this year.
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