Feb 26, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers power forward Blake Griffin (32) dunks during the game against the Charlotte Bobcats at the Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The Clippers are a great basketball team with a lot of talent. With the future of Chris Paul uncertain in LA, they’re worried about having another winning season, but they shouldn’t be. They may have a lot of veterans on the roster, but it’s good to have the experience. Eric Bledsoe is a great backup point guard and the Clippers have enough depth to get it done without Paul, who is likely to re-sign. Still, the last two season have been saddened by early playoff exits in the first and early second round. It’s not that the Clippers are bad, but there’s a couple things keeping them back.

They may be missing the leadership of Paul when he faces injury, but they look to Bledsoe to be at the helm during games. It may a bit hard for him, however, as he is still young himself and incapable of producing the highlight plays like Paul, and averaging over 9 assists per game. There’s many problems that cannot be fixed, but some are just small. Here are the big ones.

1. Inexperience:

Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan, three core players of the Clippers are very young and inexperienced. Jamal Crawford is older, yes, but he hasn’t been a contender, ever, so that may hurt the Clippers a little bit. They could easily have a successful offseason, but right now, there’s no need or urgency to make an rash decisions like trading any core players away. These guys will become more and more mature, and learn how to play in the postseason. Did anybody see LeBron James’ first finals compared to his last?

2. Possibly Coaching?

Many hate it when I say that the Clippers need a coaching change, but they do. Vinny Del Negro is a great coach, but before Paul came to town, his Clippers were almost as helpless as the Bobcats, now. Del Negro has seemingly been able to manage his team in the regular season well, but come playoff time, the coaching is almost all that matters. Del Negro just can’t seem to make those adjustments that makes or breaks a playoff series. When the Clippers beat the Grizzlies last year, they were focused on the intensity.

3. Desire:

Half of the battle is just having desire. All these guys are the NBA for a reason, because they can play basketball. The Clippers have a lot of talent for a young team, but sometimes flashy dunks and the old razzle-dazzle don’t work. Like the Spurs, the Clippers need to be more grounded, trying to make the right play instead of ALWAYS going for the crowd-pleasing plays. Of course they’re capable of doing this, but they need some nudge from desire, which hasn’t seemed to hit them yet. Sure, it’s all fun and games, but what happens when you’re considered one of the NBA’s greatest, and you’ve never won a championship? The Clippers lost a 2-0 series lead to the Grizzlies. They need to play every possession like it’s their last!

Apr 22, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Memphis Grizzlies power forward Zach Randolph (50) defends Los Angeles Clippers power forward Blake Griffin (32) in the first quarter of game two in the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs at the Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Watch 48 minutes of any Los Angeles Clippers versus Memphis Grizzlies game and you’ll get the gist that the two absolutely hate each other. Regular season games have a playoff feel and playoff games feel like the NBA Finals. Whether it’s the flopping, the fouls (flagrant, technical and double [!!!]) or the physical play, it’s a knockout drag fest every night especially when things like this happen:

And despite all of that, Clippers star Blake Griffin insists the two teams don’t hate each other in a q&a with Sports Illustrated.

Not hatred. We have a mutual respect for each other with the battles we’ve had going back to last year in the regular season. Like you said, the seven-game series was a battle. It’s become one of these well-known physical games where everyone’s taking the hits. It’s actually a lot of fun. There isn’t hate, though. On the court, there’s animosity. But off the court, everyone’s cool.

via Blake Griffin Q&A – Sports Illustrated: Extra Mustard

Regardless of what fans around the league like to think, this is extremely common throughout the league. Some rivalries are outright dislikes such as the New York Knicks versus the Boston Celtics or the Celtics versus the Miami Heat or the Celtics versus the Los Angeles Lakers (moral of the story: the Celtics hate everyone), some teams just “hate” each other on the court.

There have been certain instances of Grizzlies players such as Rudy Gay (in the off-season) and Zach Randolph displaying their blatant dislike for the Clippers, but when you face an opposing Western Conference contender at least four times in the regular season and in back-to-back seven game series in the playoffs a mutual dislike is bound to happen.

Though Blake says the hate isn’t real, there’s not debating whether this is a rivalry, maybe the best one in the entire league. They leave it all on the line when going against each other.