LA Clippers: A loss to Denver wouldn’t be the worst thing
A loss to Denver wouldn’t be a bad thing for the LA Clippers.
It’s not every day that we are pushing for the LA Clippers to lose a game on purpose.
…okay, so maybe we have pushed for that before like on Saturday.
Still, a loss to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday wouldn’t be that bad for the LA Clippers’ playoff seeding. Let’s look at the current playoff picture and what the first-round matchups would look like.
- Los Angeles Lakers (1) vs. Memphis Grizzlies/Portland Trail Blazers (8)
- Houston Rockets (4) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (5)
- LA Clippers (2) vs. Dallas Mavericks (7)
- Denver Nuggets (3) vs. Utah Jazz (6)
Right now, the seeding is still up in the air. It’s pretty simple. A loss by the Rockets and a win by the Nuggets keep the Houston Rockets down at the four seed. At that point, the Clippers would only need to win one game to secure the second seed.
The only issue is that the Nuggets face the Clippers on Wednesday. Should the Clippers throw the game? Probably so. Assuming the Houston Rockets are defeated by the San Antonio Spurs, the win by the Nuggets would keep them on the Clippers’ side of the bracket.
The Clippers would have one game left versus the Oklahoma City Thunder in which they would have to win in order to hold onto the number two seed. There’s a possibility that they could lose both games and still remain in third but even though they would stay out of the Lakers’ side of the bracket, having the two seed would be nice.
We did all see on Saturday how attempting to throw a game goes. Doc Rivers opted to not play any of his starters during the late moments of the game versus Portland but the team kept fighting and pulled off the win. Rivers may do something similar versus the Nuggets on Wednesday with the feeling the team can pick up a win on Friday but we can’t say for sure it will work.
dark. Next. Clippers perfect playoff picture
No matter who the Clippers get in the playoffs though, there’s no doubt they will be ready. With Montrezl Harrell now back with the team, Friday might be the first time we have the entire roster available in the bubble. Whether that game truly matters or not remains to be seen.