Becoming a great team in the NBA is a tough process, and it involves learning from mistakes of all kinds. This is how a team is gradually elevated from a play-in competitor to a playoff rival, and ultimately to elite, one-of-a-kind, championship status.
The LA Clippers have gone through all three phases, but the one they were stuck in for the longest was a playoff rival. This is because the superstar talent has always been evident, but one or more mistakes were exposed in some other way through the game plan. Yet, the Clippers seem to always bounce back and immediately fix what has held them back in the past.