Can the Clippers beat the Golden State Warriors?

The Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors are the top two teams in the Western Conference currently. Many people presume the Golden State Warriors will be representing the West in the NBA Finals, but two teams will have a say in that. That is the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Clippers. The Spurs annihilated the Warriors in the season opener, but have went 8-3 since, while the Clippers have gotten off to one of their better starts in recent history. The Spurs have a chance to knock off the Warriors, but can the Clippers knock them off as well.

Chris Paul's production

Stephen Curry has taken the NBA by storm over the past three seasons, but Chris Paul is still a top three point guard (still the best facilitator other than Lebron James). Chris Paul has gotten off to a good start to the season, as he is averaging 18 points and 8 assists per game.  Stephen Curry has gotten the better of him in recent match-ups, but Chris Paul is still elite and can hang with Curry. In order for the Clippers to have a chance to beat the Warriors, Paul is going to have to be elite in every game if there is a potential series.

Clippers misfortunes

Chris Paul and the Los Angeles Clippers seem to always get unlucky around playoff time. Paul has still yet to make a conference finals appearance. This is the year that he should get there, barring injury. With the OKC Thunder out of serious contention, the path is a little lighter for Paul. But something always seem to go wrong. Either injury strikes or they have a catastrophic meltdown (see 7 game series against the Houston Rockets). They are going to have to be injury free, but they can definitely compete with the Warriors.

Warriors vs. Clippers

Aside from Chris Paul having to ball out or the Clippers having to get a little lucky with health, the Warriors and the Clippers potential match up is entertaining. Blake Griffin vs. Draymond Green, Stephen Curry vs. Chris Paul, JJ Reddick vs. Klay Thompson (in a battle on who can make the most shots) are all tempting to see. Also, throw in the fact that these two teams don't like each other like that and it will make for an exciting series. These two teams haven't met up in recent years with the present lineups, so the match up could go either way.

With the way these two teams play you can expect it to be a high scoring series. In my opinion, the Warriors will win, but the Clippers can compete. The Warriors just have too many weapons for the Clippers right now and Doc Rivers want have an answer for Kevin Durant. If they were to meet in a potential series, the Warriors would win 4-2.

What are your thoughts? Comment below and thanks for reading!!