Chris Paul Makes the Clippers Front Runners in the West

Let's make a statement bolder than what Blake Griffin plans to do to NBA rims this season. The LA Clippers are now the team to beat in the Wild, Wild West. 

Just to give you an idea of how things have gone in the tumultuous NBA. The Los Angeles Lakers entered last week as contenders and had a trade in place that would have seen Chris Paul in purple and gold. 

Many assumed that this was just the beginning for a bigger Lakers' coup that would have also landed Dwight Howard.

Small-market owners began ripping off their clothes and running through the streets as if the world was going to end in mere minutes. 

Now, a few days after that trade that was agreed upon then voided, the Clippers are the LA team that is considered a contender and the Lakers are hanging by a thread. 

Let's take a gander at the usual suspects that will vie for the top spot in the west.

It used to be the Lakers and everyone else, but as we will see, the Lakers are now just average citizens like the rest of these teams. 

I now count the Lakers, Clippers, Spurs, Thunder, Mavericks and Grizzlies as teams that could take the West. So let's make like Kendrick Perkins and trim some fat. 

The Mavericks are in for a rude awakening as life without Tyson Chandler is about to rear its ugly head. Chandler was the biggest reason not named Dirk Nowitzki that they were able to hoist the title last season. 

The Mavs will contend, even as they clear space for a play at Dwight Howard next summer.

The Spurs will benefit slightly from the short season but continue to get older, not better. 

The Grizzlies were simply amazing last season—in the playoffs. If they start off slowly, we can chalk up their playoff run to a good team getting extremely hot. 

That leaves the Thunder, Clippers and Lakers for the top spots in the west. These will be the teams to rest comfortably in the top three, of that I am confident. 

The Lakers will sink as they now lack a great deal of depth after losing Lamar Odom. More than that, they lose the size advantage they used to have every game. 

The biggest issue they have is the point guard position, which is now a year older with Derek Fisher. I just can't help but love the LA Clippers and what they have done this preseason. 

They edge the Thunder in offensive prowess. The NBA is a star-driven league, and just one player makes a huge difference. But this is not why the get over on the Thunder. 

Caron Butler is the x-factor that will have the Clippers rolling. The Clip Show now has two bigs that can run the floor in DeAndre Jordan and Blake Griffin, with the best point guard in the NBA leading the charge. 

Forget losing Eric Gordon, Butler will stretch the floor just enough for the Clippers athletic bigs to do some damage.

It will take a few weeks for the Clippers to get going, but they are scary good, and that is more than I can say about their Staples Center neighbors.

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