There is no defined set of steps in an NBA team’s progress toward true, asterisk-free title contention.
But if there were, the Los Angeles Clippers might have ascended to a new one Monday: In matter-of-factly dispatching a Toronto Raptors team 123-115 (that needed the victory more than they did), the Clips added a new and impressive achievement to an early season already riddled with them.
Toronto, gutted by a controversial last-second loss to the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, came in having dropped three of its previous four games. Defeats against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors on back-to-back nights last week sewed seeds of doubt about the Raptors’ status as serious threats in their conference. The slip against the Kings (the second time this year Sacramento got the best of the Raps) was salt in the wound.
The Clippers didn’t care about any of it, and now here we are:
L.A. rode Chris Paul’s continued production and ruthlessly competitive meanness, getting 26 points, 12 assists and three rebound ...
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Article written by Grant Hughes