Caustic Clippers bring their angry act to ACC

Chris Paul and Co. make no excuses for their abrasive nature, as long as they win

The story was unequivocal, backed by quotes and facts and spoke to a truth that’s been gurgling around the NBA for a handful of seasons now. “Why Everyone In The NBA Hates The Los Angeles Clippers,” the wellrespected NBA writer Howard Beck reported in the Bleacher Report earlier this month, hitting on a theme many felt but few had spoken.

The Clippers are, indeed, irritating and argumentative, incessantly whining about bad calls both real and perceived; they haven’t ever won a thing, which runs counter to the way they carry themselves, and they get under everyone’s skin.

The Clippers are like hearing fingernails dragged across a chalkboard while you’re walking with a pebble in your shoe with a toothache that won’t go away.

They are the painfully slow driver in the fast lane of life.

“It just seems like we have guys that annoy people,” Clippers guard J.J. Redick told The Bleacher report.

Well, here come those very same Clippers to Toronto on Sunday, full of themselves with swagger and boisterousness, wearing the mantle of being loathed proudly while arriving

“The way they play is irritating; defensively they’re gnats, they get into you, they’re physical.” RAPTORS’ DWANE CASEY ON THE L.A. CLIPPERS

as one of the league’s hottest teams.

They have won 12 of their last 14 games despite the absence of all-star forward Blake Griffin, and they would be considered a scary playoff opponent by any of the Western Conference’s top teams because of their talent.

Chris Paul is a perennial all-star, DeAndre Jordan is a monster at the rim even if he’s a horrid free-throw shooter and J.J. Redick has burned the Raptors so many times with devastating three-point shoots it’s a cause for nightmares.

“The way they play is irritating; defensively they’re gnats, they get into you, they’re physical; DeAndre Jordan is sitting back there waiting to block shots,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said Saturday. “I think their style of play more so than the perception is the thing.”

The basis for the genuine dislike of the Clippers is probably their penchant for complaining, along with the theatrics they can put on when they are on a lob-dunking binge they are so good at.

Through games Friday night, they hold their usual spot as the league- leader in technical fouls assessed, with 49 so far — more than one a game.

There was a little contretemps in their latest affair, as New York’s Robin Lopez was ejected after smacking Paul in the face, bringing Jordan into the fray to support his teammate.

Lopez admitted he might have over-reacted but, when it’s the Clippers, it’s hard not to.

The technicals are evenly split — Jordan has the most on the team with eight, Griffin has seven, Paul six — but it is also undeniable that they complain, get hit with technicals and complain some more.

“It sounds like officials (who are most irked by the Clippers),” Casey said. “I don’t know if that’s true or not, but if they get that many technicals . . . I just totally like the way they play, I respect their game and they’re one of the best teams in the league and they’re playing well.

“Their talent gets under your skin because they’re one of the most talented teams in the league and their record and standing in the Western Conference shows it over the past few years.”