The Los Angeles Clippers' victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder clinched a playoff spot for the post season.
By defeating one of the Western Conference's top teams, the Clippers have turned themselves into a serious contender for a title. They also received a little help from Denver as the Nuggets beat the Houston Rockets to help the Clippers clinch its spot.
This would be the Clipper's first playoff appearance since their 2005-2006 season. The team also suffered a 3 game losing streak last month but recovered with a recent victory. Their victory marks the 12th win out of the last 14 games.
"It's a sense of accomplishment, especially with everything we went through this short season," said Clippers' forward Caron Butler.
With the Clippers rolling, their season appears to be on the right track as they improved to 38-23 and remain 1 game back of the third place Lakers and remain ahead of the fifth seeded Grizzlies. To do this, the Clippers will need to win through a tough road trip facing the Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns on back to back evenings.
But with the current momentum that the Clippers are running on, the team will be considered favorites to complete a successful season. The addition of point guard Chris Paul this season has created a dynamic duo with Blake Griffin and other role players in Young Bledsoe, Randy Foye, Kenyon Martin, Mo WIlliams, and Caron Butler. If the Clippers were to start the playoffs today, they would be paired with the Grizzlies. Though the Clippers team is on the rise, the Western Conference is filled with talented teams that it can be anyone's game in making it to the finals.
