Previous Breakdown: October/November | December | January | February | March
Clippers.com has
analyzed the schedule after its release earlier this month and
also took a look at
10 of the biggest games for the coming season. Now, this
latest series takes a closer look at the schedule with a monthly breakdown,
moving on to February.
LOS ANGELES – To get the down time the Clippers have in January (12 games) and April (five games), concessions need to be made.
One of those is finding a way to truck through March, during which the Clippers play more games (18 total) and back-to-backs (five) than any other month of the season.
On the bright side, not many of the matchups are against teams who made the playoffs last season. Still, plenty of them are against fringe playoff teams from last year who could feasibly make a jump into postseason play this year.
Here’s a closer look at the Clippers’ schedule in March.
March Breakdown
Games – 18
Home – 9
Road – 9
Matchups against last year’s playoff teams – 5
Most home games in a row – 3
- March 25 vs Utah
- March 26 vs Sacramento
- March 29 vs Washington
- March 8 @ Minnesota & March 9 @ Memphis
- March 3 @ Milwaukee & March 4 @ Chicago
- March 21 @ Los Angeles Lakers & March 23 @ Dallas
- March 3 @ MIL/March 4 @ CHI
- March 8 @ MIN/March 9 @ MEM
- March 15 vs MIL/March 16 @ DEN
- March 20 vs NYK/March 21 @ LAL
- March 29 vs WAS/March 30 @ PHX
Most road games in a row – 2 (three times)
Back-to-backs – 5
Key matchups
March 1 vs Houston – The Rockets will be one of the more interesting teams to keep an eye on this year. After a down year that saw them limp into the No. 8 seed in the West, the already-talented offensive team got even more fast-paced and offensive-minded by adding head coach Mike D’Antoni, guard Eric Gordon and forward Ryan Anderson. The Clippers could start the month on the right foot with a win in this ESPN matchup against a team they have plenty of recent history against.
March 9 @ Memphis – Much like Houston, the Grizzlies are an interesting team to watch after offseason moves. They extended Mike Conley, added Chandler Parsons, and when healthy can compete with anyone. This final matchup of the season between the Clippers and Grizzlies could be an important one for both teams when it comes to final playoff seeding, and on the second game of a road back-to-back, finding a way to win in Memphis could help pick up the Clippers’ energy for the rest of the month.
March 18 vs Cleveland – The Cavs have had the Clippers’ number the last couple years, so the Clippers could make a statement with a win on this Saturday night ABC matchup against LeBron James and the Cavs. It also happens to be one of the lone games in a busy month in which the Clippers have a day off both before and after the game.
Most memorable win last year
March 24 vs Portland (96-94) – It was anyone’s game heading into the fourth, and it seemed it would be Portland’s, as the Trail Blazers led by three points with fewer than 15 seconds left. That’s when Jamal Crawford hit a 3-pointer and the Clippers stopped the Trail Blazers at the other end. That gave the Clippers 1.1 seconds on an inbounds pass to earn the win, and Chris Paul went through Mason Plumlee’s legs to find J.J. Redick for the guard’s first career game-winning buzzer-beater.
Toughest stretch
March 1-9: The Clippers have six games the first nine days of the month, all against teams who could contend for playoff spots. The Clippers host Houston before going on a road back-to-back in Milwaukee and Chicago, then they return home to host Boston before going on another road back-to-back in Minnesota and Memphis. That won’t give them much down time before playing another 12 games in the final 21 days of the month.