An 82-game NBA regular season is undeniably long. With opening night still 10 days away, the entirety of an NBA team’s schedule can be difficult to wrap one’s head around.
Just as a singular game can be defined by a few runs or a couple of key shots, a few key matchups often have an outsized impact on the success of an NBA team through an entire regular season schedule. This can be true for the Clippers, here are the 3-game stretches that will hold the most weight for the Los Angeles Clippers this year:
Nov. 10-14: Hawks, Nuggets and Mavericks
The 10th-12th games of the season are shaping up to be an early competency test for the Clippers. Following what should be a relatively easy home-and-home series against the Phoenix Suns, the Clips face off against three teams that will surely be in the mix come April.
The Atlanta Hawks present themselves as an incredibly exciting team in a fragmented Eastern Conference, featuring young guard-forward hybrids in Jalen Johnson, Zaccharie Risacher and Dyson Daniels, any of which could take a big leap towards stardom in the coming season.
Needless to say, the Atlanta squad is still headed by offensive supernova guard Trae Young. Perhaps more interesting, however, is the addition of center Kristaps Porzingis to supplement center Onyeka Okongwu’s presence in the frontcourt. The new one-two punch provides double the paint presence and vertical lob threat, not to mention the court spacing that sets Porzingis apart from most seven-footers.
If the young guys can take a step in both volume and efficiency, Atlanta could have constructed a battalion of rangey athletes to work around Young on both sides of the ball. As such, if the Clippers take this one, it’ll prove that the oldest team in the league can still run with the young guys. It’s a contest that will surely have head coach Tyronn Lue focused on his team’s transition defense and pace.
The Denver Nuggets and the Dallas Mavericks are exactly what they look like: a pair of win-now teams that the Clippers will have to defeat if they want to make it out of what will be a warzone in the west.
Centers Ivica Zubac and Brook Lopez will have their work cut out for them in terms of guarding centers Nikola Jokic and Anthony Davis, and we’ll see if the new big three of guard James Harden, forward Kawhi Leonard and guard Bradley Beal can still keep up with the league’s elite scorers.
If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best, and you definitely have to beat the team who sent you home last postseason.
Dec. 17-23:Thunder, Lakers and Rockets
Tough Western Conference opponents at crucial times will be the ongoing theme that’ll define LA’s season. Coming out of a short break for the NBA Cup, the Clippers face three of the top five Western Conference preseason favorites to win the championship. A good run of performances here would be great for confidence as they head into the middle of the season.
The defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder haven’t lost a single key piece, and are more than young enough to continue on an upward trajectory. If the Clippers can’t best them here, they might be out of chances.
The Lakers added key frontcourt pieces in forward Jared Vanderbilt and center Deandre Ayton, and in any case, how could you ever count out forward LeBron James and guard Luka Doncic?
The Rockets have all the assets to be the best defense we’ve seen in the modern era, with switchable wings and explosive athletes galore. Perhaps more pressing, who will the Clippers throw at first-option scorers like forward Kevin Durant? Can Leonard still take those matchups, or will it be a younger player like guard Max Christie?
Feb.8-11: Timberwolves, Rockets and Rockets
The Minnesota Timberwolves currently have the sixth-best odds to win the NBA championship, and are home to the new face of the league in guard Anthony Edwards. Not to mention, this three game stretch comes right before the all-star break.
If the Clippers can knock off Ant on national TV, then do well in a back-to-back on the road in Houston, their week off—and the weeks to follow—will feel a whole lot better.
March 27-31: Pacers, Bucks and Trail Blazers
It could be a little redundant to simply list every time the Clippers play a string of tough conference opponents. For any team that has postseason dreams, it’s just as important to handle business with weaker opponents as it is to show up for the big games.
In such a competitive west, these games at the end of March will likely be key in seeding battles. The Clippers can’t afford to drop games against teams they should be beating, like these against a Haliburton-less Pacers, a stripped-down Bucks team, and a Blazers team that is still rebuilding.
Of course, these are only 12 games in a marathon of 82 crucial contests. With the Western Conference looking as stacked as it ever has been in recent memory, if the Clippers want to avoid the play-in they will have to not only do well in the games above, but carry that hard-earned momentum to 50-plus wins.