Blake Griffin Talks About LA Clippers And Reveals His Prediction For 2020 Finals
In a recent interview with Bleacher Report, Detroit Pistons power forward Blake Griffin discussed several topics, including his former team, the Los Angeles Clippers, and his prediction for the 2020 NBA Finals. Compared to the Lob City era that featured the “Big Three” of Griffin, Chris Paul, and DeAndre Jordan, the Kawhi Leonard and Paul George-led Clippers are expected to be more successful and considered one of the heavy favorites to bring home the Larry O’Brien Trophy this year.
During his stint in Los Angeles, Griffin revealed that it was their No. 1 goal to turn the Clippers into a legitimate title contender in the Western Conference. Though he’s no longer a member of the Clippers, Griffin said that he’s proud to be part of the group that laid the groundwork for a strong team.
“I feel like they didn’t really have a lag in between,” Griffin said. “They’re a different team, but as a member of those teams, our goal is to legitimize the Clippers and be in the playoff hunt every year. I think we take pride in knowing that we laid that foundation.”
The arrival of Griffin, Paul, and Jordan in Los Angeles was undeniably the main reason the Clippers started becoming a competitive team in the Western Conference. However, during the years that they played together, their greatest achievement was reaching the second round of the playoffs. Luckily, after undergoing a huge roster overhaul, they found immediate success.
They gathered intriguing trade assets to acquire George from the Oklahoma City Thunder last summer and opened up enough salary cap space to sign Leonard in the 2019 free agency. However, despite having two legitimate superstars and a bunch of quality role players, their road to the 2020 Finals won’t be easy. For Griffin, he expects the Clippers to have a strong contest against the Los Angeles Lakers for Western Conference supremacy and against the Milwaukee Bucks for the 2020 NBA championship title.
“Out of the West, it’s gotta be Lakers or Clippers, and in the East, the Bucks. We haven’t even really seen a good head-to-head Lakers-Clippers game. I feel like the first game, no Lou Will, he’s such a big piece, and Montrezl [Harrell] too. It’ll be fun to see those two teams.”
Before thinking about beating the Lakers or the Bucks, the Clippers should focus on their opponent in the first round. After finishing as the No. 2 seed, they are set to engage in a best-of-seven series against the No. 7 seed Dallas Mavericks. Their first game against the Mavericks will be on Monday night.
