The Clippers are dominating and the Warriors don’t look invincible. Hmm

In this week’s edition of FLANNS & ZILLZ, we discuss whether the Los Angeles Clippers have an opening this season. The Clippers!

FLANNERY: What a strange week for the Golden State Warriors. Kevin Durant got out all his angst against Oklahoma City (Jerami Grant, come on dude) and then they got blown out by the Lakers. Now, an off night in Los Angeles can do that to a team and the Lakers are frisky under Luke Walton, but this is not the fully operational death star we were promised last summer.

We all know they will be fine, but ... looks over shoulder/voice drops to a whisper/peers out over ledge ... the Clippers look pretty good, man. You think? Maybe?

ZILLER: I’m there, brother! Let it be known that we’re having this conversation before the Clippers face the Pistons, but one game should not make or break this thesis. (Editor’s note: The Clippers smoked the Pistons.)

My thesis is such: The last two seasons have seen absolute peak Warriors, and the Clippers have stuck with them in most head-to-head battles. The Warriors have won like all of those, but still. The Clippers have been right there.

The Warriors are not at peak form. Steph Curry’s three-pointer streak ended. Draymond Green is under closer referee scrutiny. The interior defense issues are pretty obvious. They are still the most feared team and prohibitive title favorite, but they are not invincible. I see an opening for the Clippers. Perhaps this isn’t the predetermined season we thought it’d be.

FLANNERY: Perhaps not. This would be so on brand for pflanns to be a year ahead of the curve, but we’ve all talked about how the Clippers match up reasonably well with the Warriors on paper -- and everyone else, for that matter. And then, for whatever reason, they fold like origami when it matters most. As much as we’d like to see the Warriors look a little more together before anointing them, the Clippers have as much to prove than anyone else in the league.

I still have my doubts that the Spurs can match Golden State’s athleticism in the playoffs, and we all saw what the Dubs did to the Thunder. Unless the Blazers learn to defend at a higher level and the Jazz figure out how to score efficiently, this looks like a job for the Clips and the Clips alone.

They don’t play each other for another month, so let’s make a deal to go back and revisit this conversation on Dec. 7 to see if we’re completely full of beans.

ZILLER: How do you feel about the aura of Warriors invincibility in a broader sense? The strange thing is that Kevin Durant has looked almost perfect, but the other guys have not. The team defense shouldn’t be broken with these two starting lineup changes. It takes time to get everyone in the right spots, but the Baby Lakers blitzed them on that end.

FLANNERY: I think this is mostly just growing pains and learning how to play with one another. Like, I’m not worried at all about Klay Thompson’s slow start. He’ll run off a huge streak and his numbers will stabilize because that’s what he does. That part of the floor is fine and we’ve seen in stretches just how devastating they can be when more than one player is feeling it.

Defensively, though, yeah. I am worried there. I’m concerned about their interior defense and I’m a little worried about Andre Iguodala given his age. Veterans have the right to play themselves into top form, so let’s see in January, but right now he looks like he’s lost some athleticism.

You know who I’m not worried about at all? The Cavs. It’s like the light went on when they won the title and they finally figured out how to win regular season games with as little drama as possible. I’m always fascinated by teams that figure out how they win, and then go and drop the hammer down whenever they need to. You couldn’t say that about the Cavs during the regular season last year, but this looks like a whole different squad.

ZILLER: The Cavs are having fun, too, which is important because the regular season can be such a slog for an elite team ... especially the squad wearing the championship belts. Cleveland is feeling itself a bit and that’s got to be scary for the rest of the NBA’s top tier. That said, Golden State played like this for almost two months a year ago and the Cavaliers know what happened in the end. So I don’t expect them to get too cocky.

I wish I would have foreseen LeBron gunning for MVP No. 5 in my preseason predictions. That dude will never slow down.

FLANNERY: Hold on, I’m going to do some yoga here and pat myself on the back. There, that was nice. Namaste to you, Ziller.

Nobody in the East can touch these dudes. I mean we *knew* that but now there’s no doubt.

ZILLER: Now P-Flanns is feeling himself! Time for the Warriors to go on a 30-game rip. (Don’t act like they couldn’t.)

FLANNERY: Oh, of course they could. But don’t let that distract you from the fact that we’re talking about how good the Cavs have been this season.

I really think this isn’t getting enough attention. This finally feels like a complete team. Let’s not forget that we all had doubts about them entering the postseason and that LeBron spent a good chunk of last season cajoling them into playing like a team. They’ve cracked the code.

ZILLER: And it’s almost as frightening as when the Warriors put it all together last year.

Almost.