Clippers report: Doc Rivers not ready to celebrate a 10-1 start

Only 11 games into a successful campaign that requires every NBA team to play 82 regular-season games, there were those in the media ready to crown the Clippers as the best team in the NBA.

When presented that way to Clippers Coach Doc Rivers late Monday night after his team had annihilated another opponent, it was a narrative he refused to buy.

His team had just destroyed the Brooklyn Nets by 32 points at Staples Center to improve to 10-1 when a reporter said the Clippers are now viewed as the best the league has to offer in this still young season.

“No…Noooo,” Rivers quickly responded.

So, is Rivers opposed to that description?

“I don’t care, really,” he said. “At the end of the day, we like us, you know? But at the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter. We know as good as we’re playing, and I said it before the game, we can be a lot better. And we’re going to get better.”

The Clippers know the NBA season is a marathon and the race won’t be over until one team is holding up the NBA championship trophy.

Though this group has had to live with too many past playoff failures to get ahead of themselves, that’s not what keeps them from embracing this best-in-the-league stuff.

“I don’t think that… there’s no talk about it. I can tell you that,” Rivers said. “I think our guys think that this is a different group. It is. The bench is immensely different and we have an amazing chemistry. It’s just, it feels different. This team feels different, and so we have a long way to go, obviously, but we like how we’re playing and if you ask each guy they’ll tell you we are going to be way better than what we are. And that’s a good sign, as well.”

The Clippers don’t want to hear about that 10-1 record, either.

e Clippers have the best record in the NBA 10-1, so from that premise, it was an easy deduction for the media to boast about them being the top team in the league.

“I hate to say it but it means absolutely nothing. Seriously,” Chris Paul said after Monday’s game. “10-1 is all good and well, but if you’ve been around the league, it’s not about right now. I think for us, some of the heartache we’ve had in the postseason and stuff like that, we expect to do this. No disrespect to anybody, but for us it’s all about the process, where every night it’s about getting better and building.”

There’s no denying that the Clippers are performing at a high level.

They are giving up a league-low 92.2 points per game and holding teams to a league-best 40.9% shooting. Their 16.6 victory margin is the fourth-most in league history highest through first 11 games.

“I’m going to tell you straight up, it means absolutely nothing. Like, seriously,” Paul said. “Like for us, it’s all about playing the right way and not paying attention to the score. That’s something we’ve harped on. … We’ve got to stay the course. We’ve just got to keep building. It’s not necessarily about this game. It’s about us and building.”

Clippers tonight

vs. MEMPHIS

When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Where: Staples Center.

On the air: TV: Prime Ticket, ESPN; Radio: 570, 1330.

Records: Clippers 10-1; Grizzlies 5-5.

Record vs. Grizzlies: 1-0.

Update: Memphis is averaging only 97.5 points per game, 25^th in the NBA. The Grizzlies are making just 42.2% (28th) of their shots. Zach Randolph is third on the team in scoring (14.2) and first in rebounding (8.1), all while playing only 21.7 minutes per game off the bench.

broderick.turner@latimes.com

Twitter:@BA_Turner