Despite some inconsistent play for most of this season, the Los Angeles Clippers are surging right now.
They have won eight of their last 11 games, and they’re coming off a big 141-132 victory over Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies in which Russell Westbrook had 36 points on 13-of-18 overall shooting, was 5-of-5 from 3-point range, had 10 assists, and only two turnovers.
Los Angeles currently holds the fifth-best record in the Western Conference at 41-36, and it is just half-a-game behind the fourth-place Phoenix Suns.
Westbrook says that if the team does what it needs to do, it will control its own destiny.
“We know if we take care of our own business, we control our own destiny.”
Russell Westbrook on if there’s a lot of watching the standings. pic.twitter.com/9adyJZmUCw
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) March 30, 2023
The Los Angeles-area native and UCLA product has always been one of the NBA’s more confident players, and he seems to have at least some of his mojo back after nearly two dismal seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, during which he was crucified by the team’s fanbase.
Westbrook certainly has multiple flaws, but he is still a very good player, even if he is nowhere close to what he was a few years ago when he averaged a triple-double four times in five seasons.
Instead of having a team catered to him, he’s now playing a supporting role on a Clippers squad that considers itself a championship contender, even if others have stopped classifying it as such.
With no real favorite in the Western Conference, this could be the best chance the team has ever had of reaching the NBA Finals.
