Sitting at 20-8, the LA Clippers have to be feeling pretty good about their play this season. The team is clicking under head coach Tyronn Lue and outside of a bump or two along the way, has looked like the real deal.
They have gotten MVP-level performances out of not one, but both of their stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Lou Williams is starting to look like himself as is Marcus Morris. Thankfully, it’s all coming together and just in the nick of time.
This week’s schedule will be a litmus test for the LA Clippers as they face off against multiple contenders.
Sunday night’s 128-111 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers was great, especially considering that both Kawhi and PG missed the contest but that is likely the easiest game the team will have for the next seven days.
On Monday, they face the Miami Heat. While the Heat are not looking the same as they did last season when they made the NBA Finals, they still can give the team trouble with their hard-nosed play. Catching the Clippers on the second night of a back-to-back, the Heat could cause the team some real fits.
That is the second easiest game on paper.
The real meat of the schedule starts on Wednesday when the Clippers host the Utah Jazz. The Jazz are currently a nearly unstoppable force, sitting at a league-best 22-5. They are in the midst of an insane 18-1 run and are not just winning but are blowing a lot of teams out. The Clippers already lost to this group once this season and must look to win versus them for in games that can ultimately decide seeding at the end of the year.
Oh, did I mention they play the Jazz again on Friday night?
While Paul George was working out before Sunday’s game, a timetable for his return has not yet been given. That will make the two games against the Jazz that much more difficult.
Even without PG, seeing how the Clippers perform against a contender will be great, especially when it comes to two games in a row. Both coaches will have to adjust from the previous matchup and we will get to see a little “series” action from both squads. Given the Clippers’ poor play in the clutch, we can also see if Ty has addressed the issue. Currently, the team is -9.9 in net rating in clutch situations and is only shooting 38.6% in those moments.
Not great.
Following those two games against the Jazz, the Clippers are treated to a game versus the Brooklyn Nets, a team they could potentially see in the NBA Finals. The last time the two faced each other, the Clippers could not stop the Nets’ superstar trio. While having Patrick Beverley back in the lineup will certainly help versus Kyrie Iriving (he had a game-high 39 in the first game), being without George will hurt. The bench guards didn’t perform well last time and will likely need to do much more, especially Lou Williams who had just four points.
Can the Clippers grit out a tough win and get stops when it matters after coming off two likely difficult games? We’ll see.
This week isn’t indicative of what any of these teams will be come playoff time but will definitely help us see what has to change and what works. There is a little more than half of the season left, so this litmus test comes at the right time. Wins and losses don’t necessarily matter all too much in Feburary but hopefully the LA Clippers show us more positives than negatives.