The pressure is on Vinny Del Negro to succeed with all the talent the Clippers have assembled, but, he said, it's the kind of challenge he has embraced.

"The pressure is more exciting to me than not having it because it means people think we're relevant," Del Negro said. "I take the pressure as a positive."

Four keys, Del Negro said, are for his team to hold down their opponents' field-goal percentage, strong defensive rebounding, a good assists-to-turnover ratio and "managing personalities."

"If I can do those four things and figure out how to do them well, then we should be all right," Del Negro said. "What I tell my players is that if our mental approach matches our physical ability, we will have success. That's the challenge I have as a head coach."