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Report: Chris Paul believes Blake Griffin is key to Clippers' hopes

Per Ramona Shelburne's article on ESPN Los Angeles, Chris Paul believes the Clippers will go as far as Blake Griffin takes them. In addition, Ramona and Kurt Helin also address the issue of an alleged friction between the two star players.

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According to Ramona:

Blake is one of those guys, where his age has nothing to do with anything," Paul said in a wide-ranging 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.

"He's our guy, and he's good enough to do so."

In her article, Ramona also touches upon the alleged friction between Chris and Blake:

Griffin, in an interview with ESPNLosAngeles.com this spring, acknowledged there's been friction as he's had to change his game to play with Paul, with the Clippers' offense primarily flowing through the dynamic point guard rather than through him, but said overall "it's making me a better player."

"When I feel I'm playing at my best, I'm facilitating," Griffin said then. "I like having the ball in the post -- not because I need to score every time, but because I like to make plays from there.

"Playing with CP has changed the way I play, but for the better. It's still a work in progress, but I think it's making me a better player. I want to play with great players. I want to play with guys who want to win like he does.

"Somebody tried to say last year, 'Man, you went from Batman to Robin real quick.' But honestly, to me, it was like, 'Batman and Robin always saved the day.'"

Kurt Helin of NBC Sports addresses the friction as well:

There was friction in the Paul/Griffin relationship before, although how much of that is tied to former coach Vinny Del Negro (who sided with Paul constantly in an effort to keep his job) is up for debate. With Doc Rivers in charge the coach will not be the source of friction.

So, what is your take, citizens? Do you agree with Chris? Do you believe there was really a friction between?