NBA Power Rankings: Playoff Edition

77. <p><em>Can Chris Paul make the Western Conference Finals?</em></p> <p>Personally, I despite this narrative. Chris Paul is the best point guard of his generation and he is regularly punished for playing on teams that were not qualified (from a roster standpoint) to make deep and sustained playoff runs. To be honest, I could pen a 5,000-word column on this topic, but since it is always seen as the prevailing theme when it comes to teams that he leads from the point guard position, we needed to get it out of the way.</p> <p>Now, Blake Griffin is back and the Clippers are scary again. Los Angeles did manage to stay afloat in Griffin’s absence, playing better basketball than anyone could have imagined due to Paul’s brilliance and DeAndre Jordan’s consistency, but in order to reach their ceiling, the Clippers need Griffin firing on all cylinders. At this point, we don’t know what Griffin can do after the team scrambled to integrate him late in the season, but with a roster that basically has five-to-seven competent players, the stars must be stars to maximize the team’s potential.</p> <p>For me, the Clippers aren’t <em>really</em> a threat to take down the best teams in the West. Still, it would be really reckless to count out a team with two of the top 12 players in the NBA, and a part of me will always root for Chris Paul to get past the barrier prescribed to him by the media and folks around the league.</p>. (53-29). Previous: . Los Angeles Clippers. 5. team