1st-Place Clippers Continue Passing Tests and Monday NBA Takeaways

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 that needed the victory more than they did, the Clips added a new and impressive achievement to an early season already riddled with them with their 123-115 win.

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, and 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:

Don’t look now, but the Clippers stand atop the NBA with their best start in franchise history. pic.twitter.com/4Dg4jS8juf

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 22, 2016

L.A. rode Chris Paul’s continued production and ruthlessly competitive meanness, getting 26 points, 12 assists and three rebounds from its leader. And, as Danny Leroux of Real GM noted, Paul used every one of his 35 minutes to keep attacking…just like he always does:

Is there anything less surprising than Chris Paul sneaking a steal after the outcome is already decided?

— Danny Leroux (@DannyLeroux) November 22, 2016

With the Clippers on the warpath and Paul leading the charge, Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated reminded everyone that gambling hindsight can…well, can make you very regretful:

Chris Paul at 33/1 odds for MVP back in October is looking pretty good right now…

— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) November 22, 2016

DeAndre Jordan contributed 17 points and 15 rebounds, punctuating his evening with typical aerialism:

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He also went 9-of-14 from the foul line, which Clippers PR revealed was his highest free-throw percentage in any career game with at least 10 attempts.

And Blake Griffin added 26 points, seven assists and seven rebounds while stabilizing the second unit when the Raptors made a list-ditch effort to get within four in the fourth quarter.

It wasn’t perfect, and L.A.’s unsustainably strong defense has already slipped to second in the league. Its five-man second unit had to be bailed out by the starters in this one, and we shouldn’t expect it to keep preserving leads going forward.

But the Clips just outclassed a talented and desperate team with deeper playoff experience than they have. We’re not at the quarter pole of the season yet, but that means something.

For Raptors head coach Dwane Casey, the upshot was pretty simple, per Golliver:

Raptors coach Dwane Casey on the Clippers: “This is the best team in the league.”

— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) November 22, 2016

With the Clippers, though, regular-season success will always come with that familiar caveat: Yeah, great. Talk to me when they get out of the second round.

Los Angeles has produced some brilliant seasons in the Paul era, and even if this is shaping up to be the best yet, it won’t mean much without a visit to the conference finals. Getting there will take more wins like this. Wins with stakes and emotion attached. Wins against teams with real resumes that need to beat you.

There’s no such thing as a November victory providing playoff insight, but there were important elements in this one. For now, it’s just more evidence that this year, something is different.

The Clippers now embark on a six-game road trip against a mostly soft schedule. But tucked in there toward the end, on Dec. 1, are the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Circle that one as the next opportunity for the Clippers to validate this remarkable season.

 

Warriors Going Up (On a Monday)

In a prime example of the pick-your-poison cruelties the Golden State Warriors visit on opponents, JaVale McGee played a key role in deciding the Dubs’ 120-83 walkover win against the Indiana Pacers on Monday.

JaVale. McGee.

Signed out of obscurity before the season, McGee was the first Golden State big man off the bench. And just as they’ve done all season long, the Warriors immediately began throwing him lobs.

Anthony Slater of the San Jose Mercury News noted the trend just after Draymond Green flipped an alley-oop attempt to McGee at his earliest opportunity:

JaVale McGee has played a little more than 50 minutes this season and the Warriors have probably attempted 25+ lobs in his direction.

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) November 22, 2016

Stephen Curry found him moments later:

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