Rowan Kavner
PLAYA VISTA, Calif. – NBA pundits can start dissecting every team’s matchups, as the 2015-16 schedule is now available.
While some teams will inevitably outperform expectations and others will disappoint, it can still be fun to try to predict what the marquee matchups will be.
Here are the top 10 biggest regular season games for the Clippers, taking into account the importance of the game, the talent of the opponent and any intrigue leading up to each matchup.
- 10) Dec. 28 @ Washington – Paul Pierce makes his return to Washington, D.C., where he spent last year helping the Wizards get to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the second straight season. His highlight moment came when he hit a game-winning, buzzer-beating jumper off the glass in Game 3 to beat the Hawks.
- 9) Dec. 18 @ San Antonio – It’s the first game against the Spurs since the Game 7 win in Round 1 of last year’s playoffs. After what was one of the most entertaining playoff series ever, the teams have revamped in a major way this offseason and are legitimate title contenders. This game precedes the Clippers’ first trip to Houston, so they’ll go on the road in mid-December to face the two teams they played in the playoffs last year.
- 8) Jan. 21 @ Cleveland – The Clippers longest road trip this season is only five games, but they have four trips of that length. As dominant as the Western Conference has been recently, the East’s best teams still gave the Clippers some trouble last season, so they’ll need to take care of business with a five-game trip against five Eastern Conference opponents in January. The beginning of that trip is at Cleveland against LeBron James and the Cavaliers in what will likely be the toughest game of that stretch. If the Clippers can pull that one out, it should make the rest of that trip, which includes two back-to-backs, much easier to get through.
- 7) March 31 @ Oklahoma City – Four games in five nights can be tough. Luckily for the Clippers, after finding themselves in three such scenarios last season, it only happens once this year. The bad news is their four-in-five ends in Oklahoma City at the end of March, with the postseason not far away. When healthy, the Thunder are as formidable as any opponent, and the Clippers will need to hope the depth they acquired this offseason will pay dividends late in the year and will allow their starters to keep their legs fresh as the regular season winds to a close.
- 6) April 12 vs Memphis – If this season is anything like the last, there’s bound to be multiple Western Conference playoff seeds on the line down to the last day of the regular season. This matchup against the Grizzlies and former Clipper Matt Barnes marks the final home game and the second to last game overall of the regular season. This game will hold some weight.
- 5) March 15 @ San Antonio – There may not be a tougher road trip than their five-game stand in the middle of March. The trip includes five Western Conference opponents who made the playoffs last season. The Clippers start it off against the Spurs before facing the Rockets, Grizzlies, Pelicans and the Warriors. Starting the trip off on the right foot against the team they beat last year in the playoffs could mean a lot.
- 4) Dec. 25 @ LA Lakers – A Christmas Day matchup is always special, and this year the Clippers will be facing the team they share STAPLES Center with hoping for similar results to last season’s Christmas Day game, when the Clippers beat the Warriors by 14 points at home. This year, it’s technically a road game for the Clippers, as the Lakers are the home team in this one.
- 3) Dec. 19 @ Houston – Any one of the next three games could go in any order. This matchup will mark the first time the Clippers return to where their season ended in a crushing Game 7 defeat. That series included some clutch performances from Josh Smith and Pablo Prigioni, who are both now Clippers and will be returning to face their former team for the first time since signing with the Clippers this offseason.
- 2) Nov. 11 @ Dallas – From an individual standpoint and an in intriguing standpoint, this could easily be No. 1, though there may be more important games in the grand scheme of things. Everyone seemed to wonder when this matchup would occur, not because of its importance in the standings, but because of what took place this offseason. The Clippers have a home opener against the Mavericks this year, but it’s this second matchup that most will be watching. This game marks the first time DeAndre Jordan will play in Dallas after changing his mind about joining the Mavericks and deciding to return to the Clippers, much to the chagrin of the former team and the elation of the latter. A red carpet will not await.
- 1) Nov. 4 @ Golden State – The Clippers accomplished more this offseason than many thought possible given their cap restraints. Their first game of the season against the defending champions could show just how formidable this new-look Clippers crew will be. There’s no love lost between these teams, and with only six of their first 19 games on the road, this one will undoubtedly be the most hostile. It’s early in the season, but that didn’t stop Doc Rivers last year from lighting into his team for not showing up. They’ll try to reverse their fate this time around, as they haven’t won at Golden State in the regular season since the 2011-12 year.