October 17 – Denver Nuggets
Season opener!
The Los Angeles Clippers open their season with three home games. The first comes against the Denver Nuggets, who just barely missed out on the playoffs last season.
The Nuggets drafted Michael Porter Jr. this summer, but he is not expected to step foot on the court this season. They also added Isaiah Thomas on a cheap deal after the All-Star guard had a down year. He is looking to redeem himself and finally earn a payday.
This has potential to be one of the funniest visual match-ups. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stands 6’6, which is tall for a point guard. Meanwhile, Isaiah Thomas is generously listed at 5’9. We should get some laughs out of Thomas guarding Gilgeous-Alexander in this one.
This is a tough season opener, even at home. Still, the Clippers should manage to pull this out and start the season off on the right foot.
October 19 – Oklahoma City
The second game of the season comes against Oklahoma City who had a very productive offseason.
Alongside re-signing Paul George, the team also managed to offload Carmelo Anthony while bringing in bench depth. Dennis Schroeder looks to be huge off the bench, something OKC has lacked over the past few years. PG and Westbrook have to feel disappointed in their first round exit last season, so expect them to come out blazing to start the season.
I can’t see the Clippers matching these two stars and they fall in their second game.
October 21 – Houston Rockets
The third game of the opening home stand comes on national television against the reining first place team in the Western Conference. While the Rockets had the best record in the league last year, they fell to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals.
On paper, the Rockets got worse. They lost both Luc Mbah a Moute and Trevor Ariza and really only added the aforementioned Carmelo Anthony. Melo didn’t look good at all last season and even with him coming off the bench, it will be interesting to see how he fits into this roster.
Luckily for the Clippers, the Rockets will be on the second game of a back-to-back after playing LeBron James and the Lakers the night before. The Clips steal a win here.