33 wins. That's what the “analysts” predicted for the Los Angeles Clippers prior to the start of the season. Fast forward to last night, they notched their 45th win, and have punched their ticket to the playoffs. After defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves, 122-111, on the road, the Doc Rivers and the Clippers celebrated their remarkable accomplishment with a bottle of champagne, all while calling out some of their pre-season doubters in the form of ESPN, Charles Barkley, and Las Vegas.

What a beautiful sight to see. Seriously, the Clippers are probably the best feel-good story of the NBA this season. Nobody predicted them to be here. Heck, nobody predicted that they'd make even at the middle of the season, even if they were very much still in the thick of the race.

Not when they traded arguably their best player in Tobias Harris at the trade deadline to acquire future assets and young prospects. Surely, with that move, everyone expected them to drop out of the race this season. But it seems like this team just isn't wired that way.

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Everyone from top to bottom has fought hard to get to where they are right now. With a veteran core of Lou Williams, Patrick Beverley, and Danilo Gallinari, and under-the-radar prospects like Montrezl Harrell, Landry Shamet, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Clippers have found the right chemistry to play well and play hard together as a unit.

It's amazing how the Clippers have turned their franchise around, especially after the Lob City era folded the way it did.

But, as Rivers said, this is just the beginning for the Clippers. Now that they are in the playoffs, they are perhaps aiming for a higher seeding. As crazy as it sounds, Los Angeles is now the 5th seed in the West and is just two games behind the 4th seed Houston Rockets.

Nonetheless, with the way they have shown their heart throughout the season, this is already a successful season for the Clippers no matter what happens in the playoffs.