Clippers seem to have chemistry thing down as season nears

Updated SEP 30, 2014 2:15p ET

PLAYA VISTA, Calif.

The Clippers were all there for Jamal Crawford's wedding in Seattle last summer. Even owner Steve Ballmer.

When J.J. Redick became a father for the first time, the congratulatory wishes came in from his teammates. Matt Barnes' charity football event attracted the presence and help of his teammates.

The Clippers are hoping that chemistry, bonding and those friendships will lead them to an NBA title this season.

It's abundantly clear they like each other.

"I think if you look at the really good teams from the 90s -- the Pistons, the Lakers -- those guys all stuck together five, six, seven, eight years," Crawford said. "So, you could identify with them. They became more than just teammates. They were really brothers and families. That's what we're building."

The playful banter and good-natured teasing is evident as well. When Redick said his newborn son looked like "an alien from Prometheus," Barnes and Crawford laughed and shook their heads at the Clippers' media day.

Redick then asked reporters if they'd seen Blake Griffin's abs in his recent "GQ Magazine" spread and he and Barnes had a good back-and-forth routine about that. Griffin, who has done some improve, surely would've laughed.

"I think it's great. This is a family, literally, by every sense of the meaning," Barnes said. "When J.J. had his kid, everyone called him, checked on him. Everyone went to Jamal's wedding. Everyone came to my football game. My kids and Chris (Paul's) kids hang out all the time, So literally, everyone is ... off the court, on the same page as on the court. I think that's going to get us through a lot of the tough times."

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Clippers seem to have chemistry thing down as season nears