No. 2 biggest rival for the LA Clippers in 2021-22: Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns were too much for the LA Clippers to handle in the Western Conference Finals this past year.
They have more than what it takes, however, to hold it down this year. The team’s back together, and is going to have more time to gel together with Ty Lue, who is entering just his second season with this team.
We play the Suns four times this season too, and we don’t play them until December 13th. Kawhi probably won’t be back by then, but Ibaka should of course be there, and we’ll have had lots of time to adjust to playing without Leonard.
We play them again on January 6th, February 15th, and April 6th. We should be able to play them with Kawhi for at least the April 6th game, and possibly the February 15th game. I wouldn’t get any hopes up for January 6th at all.
Either way, we’ll have been able to find chemistry without Kawhi by then, and should be able to at least be competitive with them. We were 2-1 against them last regular season, and these four games should be evenly matched and exciting.