Chris Paul quickly became the leader of the Los Angeles Clippers when he was traded in December 2011. But as far as he's concerned, young forward Blake Griffin is the key to the franchise's title hopes. "Blake is one of those guys, where his age has nothing to do with anything," Paul said in a wide-ranging phone interview with ESPNLosAngeles.com this week. "People may say he's a young guy, but he's been special in this league, he's been an All-Star. His voice carries a lot of weight and I think our team will definitely go as Blake goes. Griffin made his third straight All-Star team this season, but his season averages in scoring (18.0) and rebounding (8.3) fell off slightly from his career averages (20.4 points, 10.4 rebounds) as he played nearly three fewer minutes per game during the regular season, at 32.5, in an attempt to stay healthier for the playoffs. Griffin's assists rose to 3.7 per game in 2012-13 from 3.2 in 2011-12, while his steals rose from 0.8 to 1.2 per game over the same period. Source: ESPN LA
