by David Zizmor

LOS ANGELES– The Clippers Blake Griffin has stepped up his game this year in his first few seasons everyone was captivated by his dunking abilities which to be sure Griffin is one of the best dunkers in the game and he won a dunking contest by dunking over a car. One of the things about the NBA is just because your a good dunker doesn’t mean your a good player.

We’ve seen plenty of those guys in those dunk contests do really well with the rest of their careers and certainly with the rest of their basketball games. Griffin was not just about dunking. He kind of had a game that left something to be desired and he wasn’t a strong rebounder and shooter and there was some concern that maybe he’s got into the celebrity of things, he was the dunk winner in Los Angeles and there’s the talk that he just settled a little bit.

What we’ve seen under Clippers head coach Doc Rivers, Griffin has improved his game all around and he’s a better shooter and he’s a better rebounder. he’s just a better player he’s just done a better job of understanding of where he needs to be on the floor. It means as a power forward Griffin can dominate when given the opportunities and Griffin has taken the next step in his game in becoming a true All-Star.

On the other end of the floor with him is Chris Paul which makes up the other tandum of the Clippers the guy who feeds Griffin the ball most of the time. Paul missed about 20 games into the season but this is a guy who we knew was a great player. Paul has already been widely considered as the best point guard in the NBA. He leads the league in assists year in and year out.

Paul is a good defensive player, he can score, he can hit from inside and outside, he’s just a complete package since his days in college that’s why he was the top pick when he came out. The combination of Griffin and Paul is what makes the Clippers one of the best in the NBA. The Clips are number three in the west in terms of records and their playing really well down the stretch towards the end of the season.

San Antonio serves as the number one team but the Clippers are about tied with Oklahoma City even though the Thunder finished ahead of L.A. in the standings. The Clippers are a really good team because Griffin and Paul work so well together and their great floor leaders and their so good at spreading the ball around to their teammates. They distribute the ball and everyone gets involved.

Also Paul can take over a game late when you need someone to take over in crunch time, Paul is the guy who takes the big shot. In a seven game playoff it often comes down to whether you have the right guy at the right moment. The Clippers have some of those guys, their a team in the playoffs but their not necessarily proven we don’t know if they can do it at the right time.

David Zizmor covers the NBA for Sportstalk radio