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Blake Griffin looking forward to challenging Spurs: 'We're the underdogs in this'

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Life in the NBA's Western Conference isn't fair - just ask Blake Griffin and the Los Angeles Clippers

The club finished with the third-best record in the Association, tied for second-best in the West, and finds itself with a first-round matchup against the resurgent San Antonio Spurs, who happen to be the defending champs. 

Griffin spoke about his team's chances Saturday:

According to pretty much every single poll we're supposed to lose. We're the underdogs in this. They're the champions. They're the defending champs, and they are that until someone knocks them off.

But Griffin's embracing the role - "100 percent" - even though, according to the standings, the Clippers are the better team, with home-court advantage and the higher seed. 

There's not a lot of series that I've been a part of where we have been picked to win in my entire career. As far as motivation, that's just how it is. That's how it's been. That's fine.

The 3-6 as far as I'm concerned doesn't really mean a whole lot. When every team is separated by one game pretty much, teams are tied and the only reason a team is ahead is because of divisions. I don't really look at it like a 3-6, as a true 3-6, it is but it's not a true 3-6 matchup.

Griffin's right about the seedings - they mean little - but even head coach Doc Rivers is embracing his team's underdog role, and will use it as motivation:

I think they know it. It doesn't matter at the end of the day, but you can use it. I'll use it probably once ... "Hey, no one thinks you're going to win." At the end of the day, you've just got to be ready to play. All that other stuff, it sounds great, and it is, you can use it. It's always nice when an opposing player says something that gets your guys riled, but all that lasts for about 30 seconds and then you've got to finish, you've got to play the game.

The series shapes up to be one of the best in the first round, as the teams combined to win 111 games in the regular season. 

One of them's going home, though, because that's life in the West. 

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