LA Clippers: First 3 Games of the Season Are a Trial By Fire
The first half of the schedule for the LA Clippers has been released. There won’t be a warmup period – the Clippers are getting thrown right into it.
The NBA is giving the LA Clippers exactly zero time to get into the flow of the season before facing off against stiff competition. The first half of the schedule has been released, and the Clippers are going to need to be on their game from the very beginning.
On opening day, the Clippers will face off against the defending champion LA Lakers, in a repeat of last year’s opening day. The Clippers will certainly be hoping for a similar result and to start off the season with a win.
Game 2 won’t be much easier. On Christmas Day, the Clippers will travel to Denver to take on the Nuggets. In this redo of last year’s second round of the playoffs, you have to think the Clippers come out with a chip on their shoulders. The Nuggets will likely do the same, partially motivated by Marcus Morris clarifying that the Nuggets were NOT better than the Clippers.
After only one day off, it’s back to LA for a home game against Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks, where the main question will be whether the Clips’ defense can stifle Luka and make him work. If they can do that, the offense should be able to score against the Mavs.
It will be a trial by fire for the new-look LA Clippers. Will they be able to come out swinging immediately against some of the best the Western Conference has to offer? If they can start off 3-0 or 2-1, that will bode very well for the rest of the season.
On the other hand, if the team comes out of it 1-2 or 0-3, it will give the Clippers some early-season soul searching. The benefit of that would be that it could happen early in the season, with plenty of time to try to right the wrongs. The downside would be, well, the losing record.
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The Clippers have a chance to remind people that they’re one of the top teams early in the coming season. How do you think the first few games will turn out? Let us know on social media, and follow along here at Clipperholics!