If you’ve been following the Western Conference recently, you know that it’s a warzone.
As of right now, the Los Angeles Clippers occupy the seventh seed in the Western Conference, despite being a full 12 games over .500.
They’ve been playing their best basketball of the year recently, so right now, the question has become: who would the Clippers want to face in the playoffs?
Honestly, at this point, the Clippers are solid enough to contend against anybody in the West. However, there are definitely teams that would make LA’s lives easier than others. Here’s the entire run-down of the Clippers’ most likely first round match-ups and which teams the white, blue and red do, and don’t, want to see.
Houston Rockets
Since Houston sits in the No. 2 seed at the moment, and is Los Angeles’ most likely opponent. Truthfully, it’s also their most favorable match-up.
Houston has been riding a wave of success recently, but they’re also inexperienced when it comes to postseason. Many of their best players are young and have never experienced playoff basketball, and the ones who have either have minimal experience or are older and less of a factor in the Rockets’ potential success. Players like Dillon Brooks and Jalen Green are playing some of the most consistent seasons of their careers, but the playoffs always have a different atmosphere. Despite their record, the Rockets have also had a lot of trouble closing tight games in the regular season.
Using their tenacious defense and experience advantage, the Clippers could easily rattle Houston’s young core if they were to start off the series aggressively. If LA can steal a road game early on and take control of the momentum, the Clippers could feasibly steal a series from Houston.
Denver Nuggets
Denver currently is the fourth seed in the West, and despite experiencing some ups and downs this season, the Nuggets will never make for an easy opponent as long as they employ Nikola Jokić. He is definitely the best player in basketball right now, and alongside Jamaal Murray, who has a history of elevating his play come the postseason, Denver will always remain a titan in the playoffs.
The Clippers haven’t necessarily struggled in their games against the Nuggets this season, splitting the season series 2-2.
Denver’s biggest weakness has been their depth off the bench, but Los Angeles doesn’t necessarily outclass them in that category. Denver also has a better starting lineup than Los Angeles, and the Nuggets’ core has a much better track record in the playoffs. LA pulling out a series win doesn’t seem impossible, but Denver certainly isn’t a preferable opponent for the Clippers in round one.
Los Angeles Lakers
While the Rockets would still be the Clippers’ most favorable playoff opponents, the Lakers aren’t far behind. Unlike the Rockets, the Lakers do have plenty of playoff experience in two of the statistically best playoff performers of all-time: Luka Dončić and LeBron James. These are two players, who, similarly to Nikola Jokić, feel difficult to bet against.
However, the Lakers have looked shaky ever since James was forced to miss time due to an injury suffered against the Celtics on March 8. Even though James has since returned, the Lakers’ struggles have still continued, and James has looked a step slower than he was prior to injury, where he was playing like a top five MVP candidate.
Granted, Los Angeles and James could be saving strength for the playoffs, but that doesn’t change the fact that, as of right now, they have no momentum—something the Clippers have in abundance. The Lakers might have a better record than their crosstown rivals on paper, but they might prove to lack the chemistry that their Inglewood-based counterparts have. Similarly to the Rockets, it’s easy to imagine a scenario in which the Clippers punch the Lakers in the mouth early and ride that to a series victory.
Oklahoma City Thunder
The already confirmed No. 1 seed OKC Thunder are still young, but they’ve looked truly scary this season. They’ve been the only consistently dominant team in the Western Conference this season, despite Chet Holmgren missing significant time due to injury. Sporting the likely MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder will be the team to be reckoned with this postseason, and they have the benefit of playoff experience on their side this time around after making the second round last year.
The Thunder are one of, if not the deepest team in basketball this season, and they certainly possess more bench depth than Los Angeles. With how hot this Clippers team has been, it’s hard to count LA out entirely, but because of the depth difference, this Thunder team would pose the steepest uphill battle for Los Angeles—the Clippers should do everything in their power to avoid being the eighth seed.
The Clippers have five more games left in the regular season, and next play the Dallas Mavericks at home tomorrow, with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m.