OAKLAND, CA - APRIL 27: Head Coach Doc Rivers of the Los Angeles Clippers talks to the media prior to the game against the Golden State Warriors in Game Four of the Western Conference Quarterfinals at Oracle Arena on April 27, 2014 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2014 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Clippers are off to a 10-1 start this season and are crushing opponents by an average of 16.6 points per game. They've led by 40 points in two different contests, and can confidently say they're the league's best team 11 games in.
Doc Rivers, of course, wants no part of that label, considering how the Clippers have suffered earlier-than-expected playoff exits four years straight. But he and Paul Pierce do believe those past failures are what's fueling L.A.'s extremely strong start.
"You get tired of losing," Rivers said, via ESPN. "The whole second-round [playoff ceiling the franchise has yet to break through] ... I don't think our guys care about that, they just want to win. At some point guys just get tired of losing. I think our guys are at that point."
"This team has a lot of built-up frustration," Pierce said. "They have first-round losses, second-round losses. ... This looks like built-up frustration over here."
The Clippers have made it to the second round of the postseason three out of the past five years, and never further in their franchise history. It's a long season, and a lot can go wrong -- just ask Blake Griffin about that. But if L.A. can keep it together, it looks as though the Clippers will have a real shot at contending for a title, which is something very few pundits predicted before the season began.
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