PLAYA VISTA — He’s one of the best on-court leaders in the game, a hard-nosed defender and unyielding competitor with sublime court vision and a deft ability to deliver passes with precision and élan. Need a big shot? Chris Paul makes those, too.

What’s not to like?

A dazzling string of performances in the first two weeks of April earned Paul the Western Conference Player of the Month honor, announced Friday. Now, the question is whether he can keep it going into the playoffs, where his personal success has always collided with a brick wall.

Related Articles After years of disappointment, Clippers keep their eyes on NBA’s top prize

Clippers seek to reverse ‘frustrating’ playoff history

Clippers hope consistency yields postseason breakthrough

Clippers vs. Jazz: Who has the edge? “One thing you learn in this league is to not get ahead of yourself,” Paul said Friday. “I understand where our team has been in the past and where I’ve been in the past and stuff like that, but all I can worry about is Game 1.”

Paul, in ways it doesn’t for the team’s other stars, is dogged by the stigma of never having reached the Western Conference finals.

“I don’t think it should be Chris’ job to get us (past) the second round,” said Doc Rivers, who was named Western Conference Coach of the Month for April, as well. “It should be Blake (Griffin’s) job, and Doc’s job and J.J. (Redick’s) job. If one guy thinks that they’re going to do it, it’s not going to happen. This is not boxing.”

The Clippers do, however, keep getting knocked out.

After three straight messy exits from the postseason, the fourth-seeded Clippers return to the playoffs on Saturday in Game 1 of their best-of-7 first-round series against the fifth-seeded Utah Jazz, who finished the season tied with the Clippers (51-31).

With everyone finally healthy and after winning the final seven games of the regular season, the Clippers are thinking championship, not conference finals.

“I hope our goal is not to get past the second round,” Rivers said. “That’s such a shallow, (bogus) goal to me. You know what I mean? Who wants that? I hope our goal is far bigger than that. If that’s all we’re thinking about then we won’t get by.”

It’s all part of a broader storyline around the Clippers, who are one of only two teams to win at least 50 games each of the last five seasons – the other being the rock-steady San Antonio Spurs – and this year finished with the same regular-season record as the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers. When the playoffs arrive, the Clippers revert to their decades of losing.

With Paul holding an option to become a free agent this summer – as does Blake Griffin – there is the very real possibility this will mark his last chance to lead the Clippers through their second-round barrier.

After contributing to two memorable let-ups against Oklahoma City and Houston in 2014 and ’15, Paul suffered a fractured hand in Game 4 against Portland in last year’s first-round series, leading to an early exit for the fourth-seeded Clippers.

In five previous trips to the postseason with L.A., Paul has been bounced in the second round three times and encountered a pair of first-round exits. As a young star in New Orleans, he led the then-Hornets to the conference semifinals in 2008 before losing in seven games to San Antonio.

Asked for which of the last three seasons he feels he shoulders the most blame, Paul said, “All of them.”

Last season, it was a fluke play that broke his hand and shattered the Clippers’ hopes, but even that meant Paul did not have the opportunity to lead his team. He has not dwelled upon the misfortune.

“That’s the biggest thing that I’ve learned and realized about this league: You’ve got to move on. I broke my hand last year and I was (upset) that night, but the next day was about rehab.

“And now we’re back a year later.”

Back for another round.