The LA Clippers will play eight “regular season” games before the start of the NBA Playoffs.
Soon, the LA Clippers and 21 other teams will head to Orlando Florida to complete the 2019-20 NBA season. Once there, the teams will have time to prepare and train before playing in eight regular-season games to determine the final seeding for the playoffs.
The LA Clippers have gone above and beyond to help keep their players in shape during the shutdown by providing them with home gyms. They have talked extensively about staying ready and keeping in shape for the eventual return of the season. They’ll finally get the chance to prove it with their play.
In many ways, the LA Clippers season was just getting started. With their roster finally healthy, and deadline moves adding last-minute key players to their roster, the team was beginning to find their final identity for the stretch run.
An eight-game lead-up before the playoffs will help the LA Clippers get back in the groove.
The LA Clippers currently hold the second seed in the Western Conference. If the playoffs started immediately they’d be in a great position with a matchup against the Dallas Mavericks. While a bad eight-game run does have the potential to hurt their playoff seeding, the team should be able to use the time to gel, re-find their rhythm, and get back in the groove for the playoffs.
The team has stayed in close contact and even worked out together using video conferencing services during the hiatus. Head Coach Doc Rivers knows the importance of team chemistry and keeping players connected and fans can have faith that the Clippers will have a leg up on other squads in terms of their togetherness. This should bode well for not only jumping back into things and finding their rhythm, but also the prolonged time they’ll have to spend together in Orlando.
The LA Clippers have assembled one of the deepest rosters in the NBA, with superstars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George at the top, and would be well-equipped for any return format the NBA threw at them.
The option they have chosen, one that closely resembles normalcy, is a great sign for the Clippers, as one of the favorites for this year’s title. The less experimental the format, the more things have the chance to go the Clippers way. They are built for a long playoff run.
The long NBA-drought is almost over and the return of LA Clippers basketball is finally on the horizon.