March 16 – 23
March 16 – vs. Dallas Mavericks
After defeating the Pelicans, the Clips take on another playoff-hopeful young team in the Dallas Mavericks. The combination of Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis will be interesting to watch. The two European stars could end up being a very deadly combination and Dallas has done well to start and surround them with talent.
Seth Curry will be coming off the bench to provide scoring and Tim Hardaway Jr. can get hot on random nights. Did I mention they added Boban Marjanovic this summer? Fans will be excited to see him back. The Mavs are on an upward trajectory but just don’t have the complete roster yet. Clips win.
March 18 – @ Denver Nuggets
A trip to Denver is never good. The high altitude works in the Nuggets favor and wears out other teams. If that isn’t bad enough, they also have arguably the best center in the league in Nikola Jokic.
The Nuggets will find themselves as one of the top-seeded teams in the West barring injury and they prove it in this game versus the Clippers. Jokic leads the team with a triple-double and a victory.
March 20 – vs. Phoenix Suns
Finally, an “easy” game. The Suns will miss the playoffs again this season. Devin Booker will still get his points and Ricky Rubio will make the team better, but the needle won’t move enough for Phoenix to compete in this still insanely tough Western Conference.
If there’s a night to rest guys, it would be this one. Facing a weak opponent at home is the perfect time to get both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George some much needed time off while still pulling out a victory.
March 23 – @ New York Knicks
Two easier ones back-to-back? I’ll take it. The Clips head to The Big Apple to face off against R.J. Barrett, Julius Randle, and the New York Knicks. To say the Knicks are trending upward is a stretch, but it at least looks like they are making some smart moves.
Barrett could end up being a star and Randle is one of the better young big men in the NBA. Knicks fans at least have that to be excited about. They won’t be excited about the outcome of this game though, as the Clips take it easily.