If posed but a few years ago, asking the question, “Controlling California: Clippers or Warriors?” would have gotten you ostracized from both the basketball and general human intelligence communities.
Even mentioning the Sacramento Kings would have preserved some respectability for that hypothetical questioner.
After all, California belongs to the Los Angeles Lakers—all-day and everyday—right?
Well, vis-à-vis the present 2013-2014 NBA season, it’s anything but.
That leaves us with the two new dominant teams of their respective regions, the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors.
And of those two, which squad currently exerts both popular and hardwood-related dominance over the most populous U.S. state?
Let’s break it down.
Los Angeles Clippers
40-20, 4th in West, 6-4 Last 10 Games
By record alone, the Clippers have outright ownership over their neighbors to the North.
LAC (.667) sits fourth in the Western Conference—and one spot ahead of the Houston Rockets (.672)—courtesy of their first-place standing in the Pacific. It also doesn’t hurt that they hold a 3-0 mark over said Rockets.
The Clippers are an NBA-best 24-5 at home and a very strong 23-11 in-conference.
Those remarkable winning percentages are products of the league’s second-ranked offense (107.2 points per game), one that also rates third in two-point field-goal percentage, second in free-throws made and first in total assists.
Preeminent floor general Chris Paul leads the Association with 11.1 assists per game. He consistently puts teammates in optimal positioning for point-scoring efficacy and can score at will himself whenever he so chooses.
A top-four 26.6 player efficiency rating no doubt helps.
One of those said teammates is power forward Blake Griffin, who is undoubtedly the most improved player in the NBA. His formidable stat line of 24.3 PPG, 9.9 RPG, 3.5 APG and 1.1 SPG on 53.3 percent shooting is proof positive. The same goes for his ninth-ranked PER (24.0), fourth-rated total win shares (9.3) and all-around proficiency.
The man still earns SportsCenter Top 10 honors on a nightly basis while operating beyond just a mere highlight-reel dunker.
Regarding a few others on this high-octane squad, DeAndre Jordan sits atop the statistical leader board in both FG percentage (66.9) and rebounds (13.9). Jamal Crawford serves as the knockdown shooter who can also run point when needed. And Matt Barnes provides the tenacious defense that is so emblematic of his head coach’s teachings.
Speaking of which, the title-winning Doc Rivers has infused some championship-like pedigree into this normally moribund Clippers franchise.
A solid, but not spectacular No. 11 defense per 100 possessions (105.2) surely leaves some to be desired. But it’s the sheer confidence, high-IQ basketball and team-first play that has uplifted this group.
Sporting a 7-1 record against the playoff-qualifying Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder certainly works as another feather in the cap as well.
Rivers’ club all told is currently riding a three-game winning streak.
We’ll now move on to the pride of the Bay Area before highlighting the negative aspects of both teams and generating an overall conclusion.
Golden State Warriors
35-23, 7th in West, 6-4 Last 10 Games
Nowhere does the otherwise hackneyed cliché of “appearances can be deceiving” hold more truth than with this Northern California contingent.
The Warriors rock an excellent .603 winning percentage. It is one that would rank top-three on the opposite seaboard but qualifies for just No. 7 in the loaded West.
That said, their 35 wins are also divided nearly evenly between home (18) and road (17) matchups, showing that their scheme-related MO can succeed at any venue.
Driving Golden State both schematically and with intangible leadership is point guard Stephen Curry.
Curry is the embodiment of a statistical anomaly. He has racked up the most three-point makes in the NBA (184), while also sitting behind only Chris Paul with 8.8 APG.
In other words, he is both a premier distributor and scorer (eighth-ranked 23.8 PPG) of the basketball. A top-10 PER (23.3) and top-five win shares (9.2) reveal as much.
Two players sitting on the receiving end of those dimes are David Lee and Klay Thompson.
The ambidextrous power forward is the team’s second-leading scorer (18.9 PPG) and rebounder (9.8 RPG)—essentially a double-double machine every time out. He also qualifies just outside the top-20 with a 19.4 PER and 6.3 win shares. Fellow lights-out “Splash Brother” Thompson, meanwhile, boasts a plus-40-percent rate from distance and is third with 17.8 PPG.
Yet for all that perceived scoring extravaganza, the Warriors are a defensive-minded team through and through.
Indeed, their top-three NBA mark of 101.7 points allowed per 100 possessions is far superior to their 14th-ranked 106.1 points scored per 100 possessions. The same goes when looking at their general per-game totals (98.6 PPG allowed, 103.0 PPG scored).
Curry is an integral part of those stingy tendencies. He is 11th in steals (1.7 SPG) and 18th with 2.9 defensive win shares. Even the usually much-maligned Lee and Thompson contribute a similar 2.8 and 2.5 WS, respectively, on that end of the floor.
But for all intents and purposes, Andrew Bogut and Andre Iguodala are the real lock-down defenders.
Bogut controls the interior with his monstrous 7’0’’, 245-pound frame. He is seventh in the NBA in both blocks (1.9 BPG) and rebounds (10.5 RPG). Better yet, his top-six percentage (5.1) in the former and No. 3 ranking in the latter (20.8 percent) are even more indicative of his dominant presence in the paint.
Give the fiery Aussie 3.2 win shares (No. 9) on that area of the court as well.
Iguodala, for his part, is as suffocating a wing defender as exists in the Association. He continually shadows the opposition’s best shooters on the perimeter, often sacrificing his own offensive production in the process.
At present, Golden State as a team has won four of its past five games.
Ultimately, Which Team Wins California?
The SoCal-based Clippers hold the advantage in point differential (plus-6.1), wins and overall conference standing. They have also booted the neighboring “Lakeshow” from its usual lofty perch in the realm of pop-culture.
On the other hand, the ones formerly known as “Lob City” have failed against the Indiana Pacers (0-2), Miami Heat (0-2) and on the road (16-15). And they’re still the Clippers—they can’t escape their laughable, loss-centric past.
The Warriors, meanwhile, generate wins with more balance and championship-level defense. They own head-to-head supremacy over LAC (2-1) and effectively over the title-defending Heat (1-1; should really be 2-0 save for a last-second LeBron James game-winner).
And asserting such superiority over their Northerly neighbors in Sacramento is a foregone conclusion. Curry and Thompson are the “Splash Brothers” for a reason.
That said, Golden State has been entirely inconsistent throughout the season. Its somewhat Dr. Jekyll-and-Mr. Hyde showing has resulted in a 3-5 record against the likes of playoff-worthy Oklahoma City, Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns.
Based on the abovementioned qualities and shortcomings—both on and off the court—we must, in good conscience, nominate the Clippers for the honor of California Controller (the non-political kind of course).
The Warriors are arguably the most complete and entertaining team in the NBA. Jackson coaches a thoroughly awesome group that can both shoot and defend the opposition off the floor.
Their logos, colors and designs on both league-official and grassroots-level apparel are far cooler, to boot.
But the top-four conference record of the Rivers, Paul and Griffin-led bunch ultimately gives the Clippers the edge.
At least until these teams’ next head-to-head matchup in March—and quite possibly the playoffs.
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