The LA Clippers entered December as the West’s best team, but had their worst month of the young season. In January, they must take advantage of a lighter schedule.
Make no mistake — the LA Clippers have already opened eyes this season. And at 21-15, they’ll finish 2018 just 14 wins away from matching their projected win total for the season.
There’s just a big part of us that feels that December was one of the more disappointing months in recent history.
The LA Clippers began December with a 15-6 record, the best in the Western Conference. And after losing just three games in November, things were looking up for the “star-less” squad — especially since they were riding a four-game winning streak into the month.
The first loss, a four-point defeat against the Dallas Mavericks, almost went unnoticed at the time. After all, the Mavericks were a great team at home, and the Clippers were probably due for a loss. However, that would be the first loss of a stretch where the Clippers won just two out of nine games, before winning four of the final six to close the month.
So after the Clippers disappointed in December, is it too much to hope for a more impressive January? We don’t think so.
Los Angeles will play 10 of their next 16 games at STAPLES Center, six of which will be played against teams that currently have records under .500. As for the road games, four of the six will be played under the same circumstances.
On paper, the six hardest games should come against Philadelphia (1/1), at Denver (1/10), against Golden State (1/18), at San Antonio (1/20), and against Sacramento (1/27) and Los Angeles (1/31). But even then, the Clippers have beaten all but one of those teams this season, and will play most of those games at home.
That doesn’t mean the other games will all be gimmes, though. Utah (1/16) has caught on as of late, and are only one game below .500. And from 1/22 to 1/25, the Clippers will play three road games against Dallas, Miami and Chicago. Two of those teams have already given LA trouble this season, and the Bulls finally have Kris Dunn and Lauri Markkanen back on the court.
The Clippers also have to play New Orleans again, a place they’ve lost already this season — so even the “easier” games may prove difficult for LA.
So long as the Clippers can stay healthy, there may not be any need to worry in 2019. But with an easier slate of games approaching in the New Year, Clippers fans can feel confident about their team’s playoff chances once April rolls around.