After a few days off, the Clippers are back at home to take on the Raptors for the second and final time this season. In Toronto two months ago, the Clippers won 124-113. They were carried by four 20+ point games from Paul George, Ivica Zubac, Norman Powell, and Reggie Jackson. With two of those players not available tonight—one traded, one injured—a different mix will have to lead this one. Check out our preview below to see how it might play out:

Game Information

Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California

When: 7:00 PM PT

How to Watch: ESPN

How to Listen: AM 570 KLAC

Projected Starting Lineups

Clippers: Russell Westbrook – Paul George – Kawhi Leonard – Marcus Morris, Sr. – Ivica Zubac

Raptors: Fred VanVleet – O.G. Anunoby – Scottie Barnes – Pascal Siakam – Jakob Poeltl

Injuries

Clippers: 
OUT: Norman Powell (shoulder)

G-LEAGUE ASSIGNMENT: Xavier Moon; Moussa Diabaté; Jason Preston

Raptors: 
QUESTIONABLE: Dalano Banton (thumb)

OUT: Otto Porter, Jr. (foot)

The Big Picture

Aside from the team-related narratives that came out of Sunday’s game, one of the most important revelations was Paul George’s 42 point game, which was made possible by better health and strength in his leg. Although George has not been on the formal injury report, he has been on a minutes restriction since the All Star Break (even though his minutes have still be fairly high on certain nights). Regardless, if Sunday’s game is a hint of what is to come from George, the Clippers will be in a much better spot than a week ago.

Moreover, Zubac is off the injury report for the second straight game, suggesting his calf is also on the mend. While Plumlee has performed admirably since joining the Clippers, the Raptors new starting center—Poeltl—will be a handful, especially now that he has VanVleet as a pick-and-roll partner. This will be the fifth matchup between Zubac and Poeltl; Zubac has mostly got the better of Poeltl but, tonight, we will see how much of that had to do with the Spurs’ talent deficit. So long as Zubac can return to his full form, the Clippers should be able to at least neutralize Poeltl’s impact.

The Antagonist

If there is any team in the league that can matchup with the Clippers’ wing depth, it would be the Toronto Raptors. Siakam, Anunoby, and Barnes all have the length and athleticism to chase George, Leonard, and Morris around all game. Moreover, since Poeltl joined their starting lineup, the Raptors have the 11th best defense in the league (in the time, the Clippers have the 5th worst defense).

The Raptors also turn the ball over the least in the league; have the second best assist-to-turnover ratio; and lead the league in steals. The Clippers, of course, turn the ball over constantly. Not only does this lessen the amount of shots the Clippers can get up; it also creates transition opportunities for the opponent. And the Clippers do not have enough athleticism to chase down the Raptors’ wings in transition.

Notes

Two Days Off: The Clippers had Monday and Tuesday off after a hard-fought victory on Sunday over the Memphis Grizzlies. One would think that this would be a good thing for the Clippers. This year, though, the Clippers are 1-5 in games after two days of rest. In those games, the Clippers have shot 42.6% from the field and 30.5% from three. Dissecting why this has happened in beyond the scope of a game preview, but it is something to keep in mind going into this game.

Rooting Interests: The Lakers won last night, lifting them up to the 9th seed. The Thunder also beat the Warriors, which helps the Clippers to some extent. Mavericks over Jazz was also unhelpful, since the Clippers are more concerned with catching the Mavs than worried about the Jazz coming up from behind (right now, at least). Finally, the 76ers over the Timberwolves was unequivocally helpful. Here are the rooting interests for Wednesday night:

— Mavericks vs. Pelicans: This depends on how you feel about the Clippers going forward. If you’re worried they might fall further down, then you want the Pelicans to lose; if you think the Clippers have chance to climb up to the 5th seed, you want the Pelicans to win.

— Thunder vs. Suns: The Clippers likely cannot catch the Suns, so it might be wise to push the Thunder further out of contention (unless you want the Thunder to edge out the Lakers).

— Bulls vs. Nuggets: Go Bulls! Why not?

That about does it for this preview of the Clippers’ upcoming game against the Raptors. As always, check out The Lob The Jam The Podcast and Clips ‘N Dip for analysis throughout the week, and follow us on Twitter to watch the game with us!

Clippers vs. Raptors Game Preview
Kenneth Armstrong

According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, several teams have expressed interest in newly-acquired Clippers forward Robert Covington since the trade Friday night that brought Covington to Los Angeles along with Norman Powell. For those who don’t know Scotto, he is an extablished NBA reporter on these types of minor rumors and has a strong reputation of accuracy.

Scotto adds that “the Clippers are open to retaining Covington,” so it’s far from a sure thing that he will be dealt again this week. While he is in the final year of his current contract, the Clippers would have his bird rights to work on a new deal this off-season. At power forward, the Clippers currently have the established duo of Marcus Morris and Nico Batum, leaving some questions about where Covington fits into the equation. Each of these guys can play in SF/PF combinations with another, but the Clippers’ long-term outlook includes Kawhi Leonard returning to the team next season (or late this season) and occupying most of the small forward minutes, while younger incumbent wings like Terance Mann and Amir Coffey also have likely earned playing time at the position. Covington can also provide cover as a small ball option at the center position, though the Clippers are dealing with a center logjam now as well. Even though many around the team, including myself, consider Serge Ibaka likely to be moved this week, the team has significant investment in defensive anchor Ivica Zubac and needs to continue to find minutes for Isaiah Hartenstein, who has the best on/off numbers on the team this season.

So, it does feel like something’s gotta give here for the Clippers. Even if you take Ibaka away from the team and don’t add another player to the rotation, they’ve got two established centers getting regular time and three quality veteran power forwards in their prime. Then, Luke Kennard, Terance Mann, and Amir Coffey are competing for limited minutes as the backup wings behind Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, once those stars return from their injuries. New acquisition Norman Powell’s best position is also shooting guard, also he’ll likely play plenty of minutes as a shadow point guard with George handling playmaking duties. At point guard, he’ll compete for minutes with the Clippers’ current leader, Reggie Jackson.

Scotto suggests that the Clippers could hold on to Covington as defensive depth and another veteran in the locker room, and that’s definitely on the table. We know that Ty Lue loves to tinker within playoff series, with support players regularly coming in and out of the rotation as needed during last year’s Western Conference Finals run, and Covington provides the luxury to make those types of adjustments. Want to play heavy centerless minutes? Covington would be a huge asset with Hartenstein out of the rotation. Need a full deck of wing defenders with no defensive liabilities? Covington could replace Luke Kennard for a game. And if someone like Terance Mann is struggling, Covington might fill the same role with a bit more consistency and poise.

In the short term, there’s a role for Covington on the Clippers, even if it’s a small one compared to the 30 minutes per game he was playing this season for Portland, where he started 40 of 48 games. In the long term, a regular role for him would likely only come at the expense of Marcus Morris or Nico Batum. It’s a luxury for the Clippers in several senses: Covington is a great luxury depth player for the next 28 games + playoffs, or he could be turned into a positive return for the Clippers in another trade before this deadline. His presence also makes it easier to explore potential deals for Morris or Batum at this deadline, as he would fit pretty naturally into the PF role for the Clippers (he’s not nearly the shooter Morris and Batum are, but he’ll camp in the corners and do just enough, while being a much better defender than Morris), and his bird rights would likewise give the team options this summer, with Morris under contract and Batum holding a low player option. Assuming Batum opts out, Covington could be insurance if Nico gets a big offer elsewhere. The Clippers could also decide to explore trade avenues for Morris and re-sign both.

For now, let’s peek at what some offers could be from the teams calling the Clippers about Covington this week. It’s probably safe to say that the market for Covington isn’t insanely robust–Portland’s surely been taking calls on him in the lead-up to this trade with the Clippers, and if they thought they could get a first-round pick for him you’d imagine that they would have been able to still avoid the luxury tax by trading Covington separately later instead of throwing him into the Powell deal. There was some chatter that Portland’s value in this trade was getting a first round pick (Keon Johnson) for Powell and a second round pick (Detroit’s 2025) for Covington. If that’s an accurate reading of Covington’s value around the league right now, then the Clippers probably won’t look to trade him. His value as rental depth plus an off-season insurance policy is worth more than a future 2nd. But that being apparent, plus the fact that multiple teams are interested, seems to suggest you might be able to get a little bit more. Maybe 2 2nds? Maybe a useful player coming back as salary matching?

The teams with interest in Covington are obviously going to be good teams with hopes of making a playoff run who would be “buyers.” But Covington being just 31 makes his bird rights a little more attractive than your standard deadline rental–he could easily re-sign with a team and be a rotation piece for several years to come. That makes for easily over a dozen teams that would be interested in adding a player like RoCo to their playoff rotation. The limiting factor here is going to be financial. Teams will need a way to absorb his $12.9M deal, either a large enough trade exception or expendable matching salary. So, who could both use Covington and has a potential trade offer that wouldn’t cost them one of their own core players?

There are only two teams in the NBA with big enough trade exceptions to absorb Covington outright: Orlando and New Orleans. The Magic clearly have no incentive to get into the conversation here, but the Pelicans might–they’re looking like strong contenders for a Western Conference play-in spot with hopes of being playoff-competitive sooner rather than later with a healthy Zion Williamson, meaning that re-signing Covington could work out for them long-term. In addition to that large exception, the Pelicans have the $10M expiring contract of Tomas Satoransky, who Robert Flom mentioned yesterday as a potential stopgap backup point guard for the Clippers. With New Orleans in mind, here are some potential Covington offers from them and other teams:

• New Orleans Pelicans: 2 2nd Rounders, with or without Satoransky. Sato has been dreadful this year and doesn’t warrant compensation. The Pelicans will have bigger fish to fry before looking at a RoCo deal, and Satoransky’s large expiring contract could well be gone as part of a package for a more significant piece than Covington. The Pelicans also have a bucket of future firsts from Milwaukee and the Lakers from the Jrue Holiday and Anthony Davis trades, so it’s possible you could get something like “the worst of NOP/MIL/LAL 2024 1sts.”
• Chicago Bulls: Derrick Jones Jr and Marko Simonovic. Simonovic is just filler here to get the math over the finish line. Frankly, I’m not sure that the Bulls would prefer Covington over Jones Jr., but Chicago is in a tight race for the 1-seed in the East and DJJ, also on an expiring deal, could miss most of the remainder of the regular season with a fractured index finger.

• Phoenix Suns: JaVale McGee, Dario Saric, and 2 2nds. McGee has become redundant with the arrival and emergence of Bismack Biyombo, and Saric is out for the season. Covington would give the Suns another switchable defensive forward to join forces with Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, and Cam Johnson–a position where contenders need a lot of interchangeable parts. But with the Clippers getting no short-term utility from McGee and Saric, who is owed $9.2M next season, the two 2nd round picks aren’t enough to sway me and I highly doubt Phoenix coughs up a first.
• Utah Jazz: Joe Ingles and 2 2nds. Ingles is out for the year after tearing his ACL, so the Clippers would simply release his $13M expiring deal to create a new roster spot. It’s just as well, since it’s safe to say the player who injured Kawhi Leonard with a dirty play last postseason wouldn’t be welcomed with open arms in LAC’s locker room. But the Jazz are desperate for defensive help and Covington would give them an interesting addition on that end of the floor, so he could be one of their targets with that expiring deal.

On the whole, if I were the Clippers, I would be holding out for a future first for Covington. Even if it’s a low-value pick (either because it belongs to a good team, or because it’s protected, or both), it gives LAC another relevant asset for a potential future trade package as they try to add high-end talent alongside Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. However, I think they are unlikely to get a first rounder for RoCo at this deadline, which I’m fine with–holding onto him is a pretty good worst-case scenario. I am hesitant to trade Marcus Morris because of his importance to this team, but he’s probably the guy at PF at this deadline who you take a long, hard look to see if you can get a really good return this week while leaving Batum and Covington as your power forwards moving forward.

NBA Trade Rumors: Robert Covington Attracting Interest
Lucas Hann

We’ve (understandably) been focused on the Clippers’ second-round series against the Denver Nuggets, but now feels like a good time to take a step back, look around the league, and check in on our Rooting Interests as the second round is nearing conclusion in the Eastern Conference and past the halfway mark in the Western Conference.

Let’s dive in!

East 1. Milwaukee Bucks 1, 5. Miami Heat 4

Lucas’ Prediction: Heat in 7

Was my prediction right? No. But considering how many folks thought the Bucks would come out on top, I’m feeling pretty good about my belief in the Miami Heat in this match-up.

Now that the Heat have dethroned Giannis Antetokounmpo and the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, it’s time to flip perspective and, with the presumptive Eastern Conference Champions out of the playoffs, consider just how dangerous these Heat are. I think that the national narrative will largely write the Heat off in the Eastern Conference Finals, but I’m not sure how wise that is–I wouldn’t be shocked if they challenged or even beat either of their potential ECF opponents. And, with Miami now recovering from the second round and Toronto and Boston headed to a decisive game 7 after each playing four guys 50+ minutes in Wednesday’s double overtime game 6, it’s fair to wonder if they’ll be able to get the jump on a tired opponent in the next round.

The Heat have solidified a very strong identity as a gritty, defensive-oriented team led by Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Goran Dragic brings finesse on the offensive end, Jae Crowder is playing elite 3-and-D ball, Tyler Herro provides a boost of firepower, and Duncan Robinson makes everyone else’s life easier on the offensive end with his gravity. They’ll be put to the test against either Brad Stevens or Nick Nurse, two great coaches who will make adjustments to pick at the weaknesses they find in Miami’s armor, in the conference finals. If they survive, they will be a legitimate threat to whoever they face in the Finals. These Heat are 100% capable of winning the title this year.

East 2. Toronto Raptors 3, 3. Boston Celtics 3

Lucas’ prediction: Raptors in 6

The prediction died with Boston’s game 5 win, but the Raptors stayed alive–against all odds–with an OG Anunoby three with 0.5 seconds left in game 3 and a double OT win in game 6. I don’t think there’s much doubt that the Celtics have been the better team through six games of basketball, but the Raptors have been just good enough in the right moments to get to a coin-flip game 7.

Either team would be favored over the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, but both would be unwise to overlook Miami. If the Heat can smother Giannis, there’s no reason to expect they can’t have success against Tatum or Siakam. The Raptors will struggle to score consistently against Miami, just as they are against Boston, but have the same kind of elite team defense and intangibles that the Heat pride themselves on.

Who will win this game 7? I have no clue. But I’ll be watching–6pm PT on Friday, after the Clippers and Nuggets play their game 5 at 3:30pm.

West 1. Los Angeles Lakers 2, 4. Houston Rockets 1

Lucas’ prediction: Lakers in 6

Obviously, I want the Rockets to win here–and through 3 games, they actually look like legitimate challengers. They won game 1 and have been close in the fourth quarter in both games 2 and 3 before ultimately falling apart, mostly because of Russell Westbrook’s struggles.

As vulnerable as the Lakers look, I just don’t trust the Rockets. They go cold at the wrong times, Harden can disappear late in games, and Westbrook is a constant liability to go through a 2-minute stretch where he throws the game. Danuel House, definitely one of Houston’s top 6 players, might not play again due to a disciplinary matter, which means more minutes and shots going to inconsistent backups like Austin Rivers, Ben McLemore, and Jeff Green.

I do think that Houston is capable of beating the Lakers on a given night, since the Lakers just haven’t been able to score consistently because of their lack of perimeter shooting and the Rockets are capable of hitting such a high volume of threes that even a good defensive team like the Lakers can’t do much to stop them. Can Houston do it 3 of the next 4 games? Probably not. Does their competitiveness in games 2 and 3 indicate that they have a pretty good shot at winning either game 4 or 5? Probably.

It’s also worth tracking the Lakers’ lineups. In order to match up with the small Rockets, Frank Vogel has gone away from Dwight Howard and cut back on his usage of JaVale McGee as well. Anthony Davis is starting to play the lion’s share of minutes at center. Will that stick against a more traditionally-sized Clippers team, or will Vogel revert to a larger lineup?

West 2. LA Clippers 3, 3. Denver Nuggets 1

Lucas’ prediction: Clippers in 6

I am actually leaning towards Clippers in 5 now–I think they won game 3 despite being outplayed by Denver, and won game 4 despite not hitting shots. Now, I have a gut feeling that the three-point floodgates will open for LA in game 5 and help them put the Nuggets away.

• Clippers vs Timberwolves Preview: Another Tough Road Game
• Clippers vs Grizzlies Preview – And Thoughts on Chris Paul
• Clippers vs Hawks Preview: Hello Darkness My Old Friend
• Clippers vs Heat Preview: Have The Clippers Finally Hit Rock Bottom?
• Clippers vs Grizzlies Preview: A November Must-Win Game

The Clippers’ top priority is winning one more game against the Nuggets and advancing. Inside the locker room, they can’t afford to look at what’s next. Sitting at home in Los Angeles, across the country from the NBA’s Orlando bubble, we have that luxury, and the sooner the Clippers close out Denver, the better they position themselves to get extra rest before future rounds.

Right now, the LAC-DEN series is a day ahead of the LAL-HOU series, meaning that if the Clippers and Lakers both win in 5, LAC would get 2 days of rest before game 1 of the Western Conference Finals while LAL would get just 1. If the Clippers close their series in game 5 on Friday and the Rockets take another game from the Lakers, the WCF would likely begin next Wednesday–meaning 4 days off for the Clippers and just 1 for the Lakers.

But both LA teams also have to look across the bracket and realize that one Eastern Conference finalist is already set and waiting for the other, which will be decided in Friday’s game 7 between Boston and Toronto. That series could start as soon as Sunday, though the league could give the winner of the Celtics and Raptors extra rest since the East is so far ahead of schedule.

Still, if either Western Conference second round series stretches to 6 or 7 games, the WCF will start well behind the ECF, which could leave the EC champ waiting around for their Finals opponent.

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Rooting Interests: Second Round Continues
Lucas Hann

Good news everyone: the Rooting Interests series did so well during bubble play that we’ve decided to keep it around in the post-season. That means that today, we’ll break down each game as the 2020 NBA Playoffs begin.

Now, if we continued doing Rooting Interests exactly how we’ve done them so far, it might get a little boring. After all, we probably won’t change who we’re rooting for in the middle of a round. So, in addition to covering who we’re rooting for, these posts will include predictions for every series as well as key things to watch for and updates on how those keys are developing.

Let’s dive in! As each team plays every other day for the next two weeks (or less, if someone wins), it will take two days for the entire field to progress through each game of the first round. Tomorrow, the 2020 NBA Playoffs begin with Round 1, Game 1, Day 1.

2020 NBA Playoffs Round 1, Game 1, Day 1

All times Pacific Time.

Utah Jazz vs Denver Nuggets, 10:30am, ESPN

Rooting for: Utah Jazz

Lucas’ Prediction: Nuggets in 5

What to watch for: Denver’s Wing Rotation

I know that this is a series that a lot of folks are excited about, but I actually don’t think there’s much suspense–Denver has been clearly better than Utah all season, and the Jazz offensive attack is significantly weakened by Bojan Bogdanovic’s injury. Plus, Mike Conley left the bubble for the birth of his son, which will cause him to miss at least the first 2 or 3 games of this series. Utah already wasn’t a deep team. Now? Their two most reliable reserves this season, Joe Ingles and Jordan Clarkson, are both going to be forced into the starting lineup without much behind them.

So, we’ll root for Utah because they’re the less scary potential second-round opponent for LAC, but I feel confident in Denver’s ability to handle business in this series.

It’s actually a bit of a break for Denver, who are struggling with injuries of their own, and that’s what we’ll be keeping our eyes on ahead of a presumptive second-round series between the Clippers and Nuggets. Do Gary Harris and Torrey Craig return to the lineup in this series? If they don’t, do Michael Porter Jr. and Torrey Craig stay in the starting lineup? Does MPJ keep up his almost-certainly-unsustainable offensive production from the seeding games, and how does the potential return of Harris and Craig impact his minutes and role?

Brooklyn Nets vs Toronto Raptors, 1:00pm, ESPN

Rooting for: Brooklyn Nets

Lucas’ Prediction: Raptors in 5

What to watch for: Toronto’s Intensity

There isn’t much question that this series should be a cakewalk for the Raptors. I have the Nets stealing a game, which honestly might be a foolhardy prediction, but this 5-game series should be far less competitive than the 5-game series I’m predicting between Utah and Denver.

Two reasons I’m saying 5 and not 4: first, the Raptors inexplicably dropping a first-round game is tradition, and second, the Nets are just weird enough–massive volume of three-point attempts from a lineup with a number of lesser-known and unknown guys–and competitive enough (they went 5-3 in the bubble despite having no business winning games) that it’s believable they could get a perfect storm kind of night in one of the first four games.

This is one of my lower-priority series for viewing, being one of the first round’s two most unbalanced series, on the far side of the bracket from the Clippers. But when I tune in, I’m watching to see if the Raptors’ focus and defensive intensity send a message that they’re here to repeat and be a legitimate challenger to the Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference. I have a feeling they will be.

Philadelphia 76ers vs Boston Celtics, 3:30pm, ESPN

Rooting for: Boston Celtics

Lucas’ Prediction: Celtics in 6

What to watch for: Joel Embiid

I’ve said it throughout the bubble: Philly should be much better than they are, and are probably the most disappointing team in the league this year. That said, they’re built for the playoffs with plentiful size and experience. If they’re going to go on a run this post-season, it’s going to be on the shoulders of Joel Embiid, likely playing 40 minutes a night and putting up iconic performances.

Can the Celtics–whose best option to defend Embiid is probably 6’8″ Daniel Theiss–do enough against Embiid and elsewhere to outweigh that match-up? My bet is on yes, but that’s where this series will swing, and if Embiid can lift the Sixers over a quite good Celtics team, he should be considered a serious threat in future rounds as well.

Dallas Mavericks vs LA Clippers, 6:00pm, ESPN

Rooting for: LA Clippers

Lucas’ Prediction: Clippers in 4

What to watch for: Zubac’s minutes

I won’t spend too much energy here breaking down this series (since I already wrote a comprehensive series preview), but I’ll point to one key area that could be meaningful as the playoffs progress: Doc Rivers’ trust in Ivica Zubac. Rivers and the team have clearly said and shown that their trust in Zu is much stronger than it was going into the playoffs last year, where he was eventually removed from the starting lineup and rotation (albeit against the small-ball Golden State Warriors).

The floor-spacing Mavs, with Kristaps Porzingis and Maxi Kleber splitting time at center, present a unique challenge for Zubac–but he was dominant against them two weeks ago, with 21 points and 15 rebounds on 10-10 shooting in 25 minutes. Over the course of the season (3 games, and Zu doesn’t always play much, so a serious sample size alert here), Zubac’s defensive rating against Dallas was third only to Anthony Davis and Joel Embiid, per Andrew Greif of the LA Times.

If Zubac can not just stay on the floor against Dallas, but thrive and earn increased minutes and get called on to close games, it would be a wonderful indication that LAC can rely on him in later rounds. If he struggles, and Rivers prioritizes returning backup center Montrezl Harrell or small-ball lineups with JaMychal Green, it could be hard for Zubac to fully regain his confidence and Doc’s trust in a post-season run where the stakes will only get higher.

That’ll do it for today’s Rooting Interests–an exciting slate of games as the 2020 NBA Playoffs finally begin. Check back tomorrow as the other four series get underway.

Rooting Interests: The 2020 NBA Playoffs Begin
Lucas Hann

Are you a Clippers fan who isn’t sure who to root for in the NBA’s August 12th bubble games? You’re in the right place.

With each team playing just eight “seeding games” in Orlando before the playoffs begin, there’s limited time to both battle for playoff positioning as well as build momentum after a four-month layoff. That means that, while we obviously want the Clippers to be successful, Clippers fans can’t just pay attention to LAC–nearly every game played in the NBA over this two-week span is important to the playoff picture.

Tuesday was full of action in the race for the Western Conference play-in tournament, with all four competing teams playing. Plus, the Houston Rockets picked up a crucial loss that give the Clippers a lot more control over how the standings will unfold this week.

The NBA’s August 12th Bubble Games

All times Pacific time.

Indiana Pacers vs Houston Rockets, 1:00pm, NBATV

Rooting for: Indiana Pacers

The NBA’s August 12th bubble games tip off later than most days, but with a game we’ll definitely want to keep our eyes on. After the Rockets’ loss to the Spurs Tuesday, the Clippers have clinched a top-3 seed and Houston’s chances of moving up from 4th have been greatly reduced. Still, Houston can pass Denver if the right combination of things happen. The Rockets winning both of their remaining games, this one and their finale against Philadelphia on Friday, is part of that formula.

So, we’d be thrilled to see Houston drop this one. The Rockets can no longer fall to 6th, thanks to some losses from Utah and Oklahoma City, so another loss guarantees they’ll find themselves in the 4-5 match-up. That means they’d face the Lakers in the second round, and that’s the match-up we’ve been trying to engineer all along.

The other way to block Houston out would be a Nuggets win. Denver’s last two games Wednesday night against the Clippers and Friday afternoon against Toronto. We’ll talk about that Clippers-Nuggets match-up in a minute.

Toronto Raptors vs Philadelphia 76ers, 3:30pm, ESPN

Rooting for: Toronto Raptors

Right now, Miami is in 4th place in the East with a narrow lead over Philly and Indiana. Of those three teams, Miami is the best challenger for the Milwaukee Bucks, but there’s really no easy way to separate Indiana and Philadelphia. The Sixers are more talented, but consistently disappoint, while the Pacers have played better but don’t have the star power or experience to inspire confidence deep in the playoffs.

I’m going with a Philly loss here, since it would help secure Miami’s 4-5 finish. The Heat have a head-to-head with Indiana remaining, so there’s a (very unlikely) scenario where Miami falls all the way to 6th. A Philly loss eliminates that scenario. In reality, though, this is the least significant of the NBA’s August 12th bubble games.

Miami Heat vs Oklahoma City Thunder

Rooting for: Miami Heat

Same reasoning here re: Miami–we want them to lock up 4th (or 5th, there’s no difference on a neutral court). For Oklahoma City, there’s a small chance that the Thunder could slip from 5th and find themselves in the 3-6 match-up instead–which might be preferable, as the beat-up Denver Nuggets look a bit less scary than the Houston Rockets right now.

But currently in 6th are the Utah Jazz, and nobody wants to avoid Houston more than them. Losing this one isn’t enough for OKC to fall to 6th, as they’d also need to lose to the Clippers on Friday and the Jazz would need to win Thursday against San Antonio. My gut tells me that if OKC drops this game to Miami, then Utah rests their guys tomorrow night.

To recap a discussion from previous days, we’d rather see OKC drop to 6th because they’d give Denver a tough first-round series, hopefully leading to an LAC rest advantage in the second round, while Houston should have an easy time with Utah, minimizing the Lakers’ rest advantage in the second round.

You might ask, since OKC losing here likely means Utah giving the Spurs a free win tomorrow, why we wouldn’t want an OKC win. The domino effect says OKC win means Utah trying harder against the Spurs which means better odds of Portland and/or Phoenix making the play-in tournament over the Spurs. But the reality is that SAS-UTA is an elimination game for the Spurs, and the Jazz will either be locked into 6th or need to lose to avoid 5th (and Houston), so the Spurs should win either way. It’ll be up to Portland and Phoenix to take care of business (and hopefully Memphis to lose).

LA Clippers vs Denver Nuggets, 6:00pm, ESPN

Rooting for: LA Clippers if Houston loses to Indiana, Denver Nuggets if Houston beats Indiana

This is clearly the most impactful of the NBA’s August 12th bubble games–but that doesn’t mean we want the Clippers to win it.

If the Houston Rockets lose their afternoon game to the Indiana Pacers, then the Clippers and Nuggets are locked in to the 2-3 match-up. In that case, the Clippers should beat Denver, clinch 2nd place, and guarantee their first-round match-up with the Dallas Mavericks. The Clippers are 3-0 against the Mavs this season, winning by an average of 11 points. The loss would lock Denver in to 3rd place, most likely facing the Utah Jazz (reference back to our 5-6 OKC-Utah discussion above).

If the Rockets win, however–and it sounds like they will, as Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Eric Gordon are all expected to play and the Pacers are resting players–then I’m going to switch perspectives here and hope that the Clippers pull their starters early and concede this game to Denver. Let’s explore this scenario a bit more.

The Nuggets’ win over LAC would clinch a top-3 seed, meaning Houston would be locked in 4th regardless of what happens on the final night of the season. Remember, Houston’s Tuesday loss clinched a top-3 seed for LAC, so there’s no peril for the Clippers to slide into the Lakers’ side of the bracket. Even after losing to Denver, the Clippers are in control for the 2-seed, they just wouldn’t have clinched it yet. LA would need either a win on Friday against Oklahoma City or a Nuggets loss on Friday to Toronto to finish 2nd. The Nuggets play before the Clippers, meaning LAC would know by tip-off if they need the victory to clinch, allowing them to make an informed choice regarding match-ups.

In order for Denver to pass the Clippers, they’d need to beat Toronto Friday and the Oklahoma City Thunder would need to beat LA. Unlikely, but certainly possible. Losing to Denver means eliminating the possibility of Houston rising to 3rd, at a cost of creating a possibility for Denver to pass LAC for 2nd. So, what are the ramifications of falling to 3rd?

The Dallas Mavericks are guaranteed to finish 7th, so the 2nd seed will automatically play them. Falling to third means a different first-round opponent–but it can only possibly be the Jazz, not the Thunder. Like I said above, Utah could still potentially move ahead of OKC in the standings–but that requires OKC to lose both of their remaining games. If OKC loses to the Clippers, LAC clinches 2nd. If OKC beats the Clippers, OKC clinches 5th. The two cannot meet in the first round this year.

So, the real question is if a 3-6 series vs Utah is better or worse than a 2-7 series vs Dallas. Remember, there’s no home-court advantage inside the bubble, and Bojan Bogdanovic is out for the Jazz–they’re just 2-5 in bubble play so far. While the Clippers have been very successful against the Mavericks this season, the Mavs have been more competitive (but still not great) in the bubble. Frankly, I don’t feel a strong preference for either opponent, which is why I would prioritize helping Denver clinch finishing above Houston to set up LAL-HOU in the second round.

Let me summarize (assuming Houston beats Indiana today):

If Denver beats the Clippers Wednesday, and Denver beats Toronto Friday, and Oklahoma City beats the Clippers Friday, LAC plays Utah in the 3-6.

If Denver beats the Clippers Wednesday and Friday yields any other combination of outcomes, LAC plays Dallas in the 2-7.

If the Clippers beat Denver Wednesday, and Toronto beats Denver Friday, and Houston beats Philadelphia Friday, LAC plays Dallas in the 2-7 and Houston passes Denver for 3rd.

If the Clippers beat Denver Wednesday and Friday yields any other combination of outcomes, LAC plays Dallas in the 2-7 and Denver holds on to 3rd.

Tuesday’s Games

Brooklyn Nets 108, Orlando Magic 96

We were rooting for: Orlando Magic

These teams were wise and chose not to beat up on each other, since both have uphill battles ahead of them in the first round. Brooklyn plays Toronto in the 2-7 while Orlando will face Milwaukee in the 1-8.

Houston Rockets 105, San Antonio Spurs 123

We were rooting for: San Antonio Spurs

This was the most important result for the Clippers, who clinched a top-3 seed with this Houston loss. Remember the above scenarios for what can happen if the Clippers beat or lose to Denver? If Houston had won this game, LAC beating Denver would put Houston in the driver’s seat for 3rd, while Denver beating LAC would have opened the door for the Clippers to slide all the way to 4th if they lost to Oklahoma City on Friday. This was a huge sigh of relief.

The Spurs, on the other hand, are still alive–but they need help. All four teams competing for the 8/9 play-in in the Western Conference have 4 games left. The Spurs are in back of that bunch. So, not only do they need to beat Utah on Thursday–they need at least two of Portland, Memphis, and Phoenix to lose in their finales as well. A loss Thursday eliminates them outright.

Phoenix Suns 130, Philadelphia 76ers 117

We were rooting for: Phoenix Suns

The Suns have been the hottest team in Orlando, and improved to 7-0 with this win. They conclude their seeding games Thursday afternoon against the Dallas Mavericks, in a game that means nothing for Dallas and could feature rest on the Mavs’ side. For Phoenix, a loss means elimination. A win keeps them alive, and needing either a Portland loss to Brooklyn Thursday evening or a Grizzlies loss to Milwaukee Thursday afternoon to move into 9th. If both Portland and Memphis lose, Phoenix could rise all the way to 8th, with 9th falling to either the Spurs (if they beat Utah) or the Blazers (if Utah beats the Spurs).

Philly’s tragic number (Philly losses or Indiana wins before the Sixers are guaranteed to finish 6th behind Indiana) is now just 1.

Boston Celtics 122, Memphis Grizzlies 107

We were rooting for: Boston Celtics

It feels bad to beat up on the Grizzlies, an exciting young team that played hard and well all season long. But they’ve been bad in the bubble, and with this loss fell to 1-6. They’re without Jaren Jackson Jr., likely their best player. Portland and Phoenix are simply the two teams that have been the most compelling in the bubble and would make for the most competitive play-in tournament.

But Memphis’ success throughout the year while other teams struggled has left them in the position to make the play-in regardless of their bubble struggles. They lost here to a Boston team that played its starters in a meaningless game, where competitors have gotten free wins. It’s a bad break.

The Grizzlies’ final game now comes against Milwaukee on Thursday. If they win, they’re guaranteed a spot in the play-in tournament, despite going just 2-6. If Portland also wins their finale, the Blazers will be 8th to Memphis’ 9th. If Portland loses, Memphis would be 8th to either Phoenix (with a Suns win), San Antonio (with a Suns loss and a Spurs win), or Portland (with a Suns loss and a Spurs loss).

If Memphis loses, their chances of a play-in spot plummet. Their only hope would be to finish 9th to Portland’s 8th (regardless of if the Blazers win or lose their finale), and in order to do so they would need the Spurs and Suns to each lose.

Portland Trail Blazers 134, Dallas Mavericks 131

We were rooting for: Portland Trail Blazers

Wow. Wow. What a fun game. Seriously, if you missed it, try to go re-watch the fourth quarter. Damian Lillard scored sixty-one points and the Mavericks made a late-game barrage of their own to keep it close.

For Dallas, this loss locks them in to the 7th seed. For the Blazers, it keeps a play-in berth likely instead of leaving them needing a lot of help from other teams. Portland now controls their own destiny for the 8th seed–if they beat the Nets on Thursday, they’ll be 8th outright.

If they lose, they’ll need 2/3 of Phoenix, Memphis, and San Antonio to lose as well. In essence, that means it’s another must-win for Dame and the Blazers.

Milwaukee Bucks vs Washington Wizards

New Orleans Pelicans vs Sacramento Kings

We were rooting for: taking the night off…

…And that’s what I’m doing! Both of these games have no standings implications, so I’m going to go ahead and publish this article before they finish. Two notes, though:

Giannis Antetokounmpo was ejected early in Bucks-Wizards for headhunting Moe Wagner. He’ll likely be suspended–but it’s unclear how many games, or if it will apply to the playoffs or to the start next season. My guess, based on precedent, is 1-2 games.

Former Clipper Sindarius Thornwell was signed by the Pelicans as a replacement player before the bubble began, and hasn’t gotten many minutes as the Pelicans tried to make the play-in tournament. But now that they’re eliminated and resting their stars, Sin got second-unit minutes in this one and played quite well. It would be great to see him land on a roster next season.

Stay tuned in to 213Hoops every day of the NBA’s Orlando Bubble for a new Rooting Interests.

Check out the spreadsheet for updated seeding scenarios.

213Hoops is an independently owned and operated L.A. Clippers blog by Clippers fans, for Clippers fans. If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at $1 a month and support from readers like you goes a long way towards helping us keep 213Hoops sustainable, growing, and thriving.

Rooting Interests: The NBA’s August 12th Bubble Games
Lucas Hann

Are you a Clippers fan who isn’t sure who to root for in the NBA’s August 9th bubble games? You’re in the right place.

With each team playing just eight “seeding games” in Orlando before the playoffs begin, there’s limited time to both battle for playoff positioning as well as build momentum after a four-month layoff. That means that, while we obviously want the Clippers to be successful, Clippers fans can’t just pay attention to LAC–nearly every game played in the NBA over this two-week span is important to the playoff picture.

Saturday broke perfectly for the Clippers, with them winning and the Denver Nuggets beating the Utah Jazz. Now, the Clippers are well set up to secure all of their preferred outcomes this week. Let’s take a look at the desired outcomes for each of Sunday’s 7 games.

The NBA’s August 9th Bubble Games

All times Pacific Time.

Washington Wizards vs Oklahoma City Thunder, 9:30am, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Washington Wizards

This one is a bit of a long shot, but if the already-eliminated Wizards can pull of a bit of early-morning weirdness against OKC, it would be pretty nice for the Clippers. Technically, the door is still open for the Houston Rockets to slide to 6th place, and losses from Utah and OKC help close that door.

Plus, if we could choose, we’d like for OKC to finish 6th and Utah 5th. I know folks are (rightfully) more scared of OKC than Utah, so let me explain my reasoning here. Between Denver, OKC, and Utah, the Clippers should be able to win their second-round series regardless of opponent. While I agree that the Utah Jazz without Bojan Bogdanovic are the weakest of the three, that actually likely means that if the Jazz finish 6th, the Clippers will never see them–they’ll lose to Denver in the 3-6.

So, I see the choice between Utah and OKC for 6th as being a choice between seeing Denver, likely well-rested after an easy first-round series against the Jazz, or either Denver or OKC, fatigued and beaten up from a brutal series against the other. Remember how the Lob City Clippers never won a first-round series in less than 7 games, and were always heading into the 2nd round on a rest and health disadvantage?

Giving Denver the tougher match-up in Oklahoma City increases the chances of the Clippers entering R2 with a rest and health advantage. Plus, giving Houston the Jazz in the first round could help the Rockets enter R2 against the Lakers without any rest and health disadvantage of their own (especially if the Blazers take a game or two from LAL).

Memphis Grizzlies vs Toronto Raptors, 11:00am, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Toronto Raptors

Memphis’ first bubble win pushed every play-in contender except for Portland–New Orleans, San Antonio, Sacramento, and Phoenix–to the brink of elimination. The Kings lost on Friday, ending their hopes of passing the Grizzlies. The Suns, Pelicans, and Spurs are all still barely alive.

A Grizzlies win here would pretty much end any competition down the standings and make it a straight race between Portland and Memphis to determine who will be 8th and who will be 9th heading in to the play-in tournament. Remember, if 8th wins the first play-in game or lose and then win the second, they move on to the playoffs, while 9th needs to beat 8th two nights in a row to advance.

While it would be nice for Memphis to close the door on some of the lower teams, we’ll trust that those matters will take care of themselves eventually and root for a Grizzlies loss to help Portland finish 8th and not 9th. If the Blazers have to play both nights of the play-in tournament, then Game 1 vs the Lakers would be their 7th game in 10 nights. If Memphis finishes 1-7, the Blazers need to find 2 wins in their last 3 games (PHI/DAL/BKN) to finish 8th. If the Grizzlies win another game, Portland needs to be perfect. And if Memphis wins 2 or all 3 of their 3 remaining games (TOR/BOS/MIL), Portland cannot pass them.

San Antonio Spurs vs New Orleans Pelicans, 12:00pm, ABC

Rooting for: San Antonio Spurs

This is a huge match-up for these two, with the loser all but eliminated (either team can no longer pass Memphis with a loss, and move to relying on a bunch of Portland losses to steal 9th). We’re going for a Spurs win here, but it’s nothing personal: San Antonio (HOU/UTA) just has a tougher schedule the rest of the way than New Orleans (SAC/ORL). This is the easiest game left for the Spurs, and they’ll likely be eliminated later in the week anyway. If the Pelicans win here, in their toughest remaining game, they could actually close 3-0 and sneak into the play-in tournament.

There’s only two play-in pairings I care for: Portland against Memphis, giving the Blazers their easiest possible path to the playoffs, or Portland against Phoenix, giving the red-hot 8-0 Suns a chance to improve to 10-0 and prove they’re the strongest team to challenge the Lakers. I’m fine with either–but if it’s not gonna be Phoenix, I’d just as soon root for Portland to have an easier time so they can rest up for the Lakers.

Orlando Magic vs Boston Celtics, 2:00pm, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Boston Celtics

The Celtics can’t really move in the standings at this point, but the Magic still can–and we’d rather they stay in 8th and at least make the Milwaukee Bucks sweep an NBA team with a real starting lineup and not the shell of the Brooklyn Nets, who currently sit in 7th.

Philadelphia 76ers vs Portland Trail Blazers, 3:30pm, NBATV

Rooting for: Portland Trail Blazers

We’ve been rooting for Philly lately, with hopes of them rising into 5th and challenging the Bucks in the second round. But with Ben Simmons needing a minor knee operation and TJ Warren’s Pacers continuing to surge, I’m ready to give up on the Sixers.

Especially when Portland is the team on the other bench. As discussed above, Portland needs to win at least 2 of their last 3 games if they want to enter the play-in tournament from the 8th spot. Getting the first one here would be nice.

Houston Rockets vs Sacramento Kings, 5:00pm, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Sacramento Kings

I don’t have a lot of faith in the Kings to pull this off, but maybe relieved of the pressure of a playoff push they can start to have a little bit of fun on the basketball court. If that happens, and the Rockets overlook them and have an off shooting night, maybe there could be an upset.

It would certainly help the Clippers, as LAC beating Brooklyn Sunday, combined with Houston losing one of their 3 games on Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday, puts us awfully close to confirming LAC’s 2-seed while keeping Houston in the 4-5 match-up.

Brooklyn Nets vs LA Clippers, 6:00pm, NBATV

Rooting for: Rodney and the McShooters

This would be the Clippers’ 4th win in the bubble, and guarantee them a top-3 finish. Their magic # for clinching the 2 seed would be 1 LAC win or Denver Loss, spread across Denver’s match-up with the Lakers Monday, the LAC-DEN head-to-head Wednesday, the Clippers’ finale against Oklahoma City on Friday, and Denver’s finale against Toronto (also on Friday). I like those odds.

The protection from this win would allow the Clippers to throw Wednesday’s game against Denver if necessary to keep the Rockets in 4th (click the link for a google spreadsheet of different scenarios) and still control their own destiny: a win Friday against OKC guarantees them 2nd place regardless of how Denver finishes.

Yesterday’s Games

Los Angeles Clippers 122, Portland Trail Blazers 117

We were rooting for: LA Clippers

A lot of Clippers fans wanted the Clippers to lose this game to help Portland secure 8th place and a first-round match-up with the Lakers–and it seems like the Clippers were in agreement, as Kawhi Leonard was a late scratch and Doc Rivers benched his starters down the stretch of a tight game, closing with Terance Mann, Landry Shamet, Rodney McGruder, Patrick Patterson, and JaMychal Green.

It didn’t work, though, as the Clippers’ bench–helped by two late missed free throws by Damian Lillard–pulled ahead and ultimately won the game. Check out 213Hoops’ full game recap.

Frankly, I’m glad. Throwing the game against Portland would have been a mistake, both because the Blazers are likely to reach the 1-8 match-up without LAC’s help and because bigger priorities–like clinching 2nd and keeping Houston in 4th–could have been compromised by the loss. Remember that chart up there detailing when the Clippers should and shouldn’t throw Wednesday’s game against Denver to ensure that LAC-DEN-HOU finish 2-3-4? Without this win against Portland, the Clippers’ flexibility to manipulate those outcomes would be drastically reduced.

Utah Jazz 132, Denver Nuggets 134 (2OT)

We were rooting for: Denver Nuggets

This might have been the best game of the bubble, and fortunately it concluded in the way we were hoping: with the Nuggets getting a little further ahead of the Rockets to reduce Houston’s odds of climbing to 3rd, and the Jazz falling a little further behind the Rockets to reduce Houston’s odds of sliding to 6th.

Utah’s last 2 games are against Dallas and San Antonio. In order for them to pass Houston, the Jazz either need to finish 2-0 to the Rockets’ 1-3, or 1-1 to the Rockets’ 0-4. To pass Oklahoma City, they need to lose 2 fewer games than the Thunder (OKC has 4 left, WAS/PHX/MIA/LAC).

Los Angeles Lakers 111, Indiana Pacers 116

We were rooting for: Indiana Pacers

I don’t know what happened to TJ Warren during quarantine, but he’s a different player than he was before. Warren had another massive night, with 39 points on 15-22 shooting, including a dagger three to push the Pacers ahead by six with just under 10 seconds to play.

It’s unclear how much the Lakers’ struggles actually matter–they came into bubble play with the 1-seed guaranteed and have played a bunch of teams with much more urgency. But you can’t deny that they’re struggling, and that’s definitely better than if they were coasting at 6-0 and looking dominant.

Phoenix Suns 119, Miami Heat 112

We were rooting for: Phoenix Suns

The Suns stay perfect in the bubble, and in order to have any hopes of making the play-in tournament, they’ll need to stay perfect–winning their last 3 games against Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, and Dallas.

Even that might not be enough. Phoenix came into Orlando at such a disadvantage that they’ll also need for either Memphis to stay at 1-7 or Portland to lose again and finish 5-3 or worse. The Suns would be technically still alive at 7-1, but would be unable to pass Memphis and have to hope to finish 9th with help from Portland, San Antonio, and New Orleans.

Milwaukee Bucks 132, Dallas Mavericks 136

We were rooting for: Milwaukee Bucks

This game meant nothing in the standings for either team, but both stuck with their starters down the stretch. It served as a nice reminder that the Mavs can play a 120-point game with anyone if you don’t contain Luka. It was a signature win for the Mavs behind 36 points, 19 assists, and and 14 rebounds from Luka Doncic. This was the blueprint for Dallas to steal playoff games against an elite team like the Clippers–which could make it good study material for LAC heading in to the first round.

Stay tuned in to 213Hoops every day of the NBA’s Orlando Bubble for a new Rooting Interests.

213Hoops is an independently owned and operated L.A. Clippers blog by Clippers fans, for Clippers fans. If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at $1 a month and support from readers like you goes a long way towards helping us keep 213Hoops sustainable, growing, and thriving.

Rooting Interests: The NBA’s August 9th Bubble Games
Lucas Hann

Are you a Clippers fan who isn’t sure who to root for in the NBA’s August 5th bubble games? You’re in the right place.

With each team playing just eight “seeding games” in Orlando before the playoffs begin, there’s limited time to both battle for playoff positioning as well as build momentum after a four-month layoff. That means that, while we obviously want the Clippers to be successful, Clippers fans can’t just pay attention to LAC–nearly every game played in the NBA over this two-week span is important to the playoff picture.

The Clippers’ loss to the Phoenix Suns at the buzzer yesterday certainly put a damper on things, but there’s just too much good basketball and standings intrigue around the league to stay discouraged for long. Let’s dive in.

The NBA’s August 5th Bubble Games

All times Pacific Time.

Memphis Grizzlies vs Utah Jazz, 11:30am, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Memphis Grizzlies

When two teams that you want to lose go up against each other, it can be a blessing and a curse. One is guaranteed to pick up that coveted loss, but the other is guaranteed to win.

We’ve been rooting against the Memphis Grizzlies (sorry, Grizz) because their fall from 8th place in the West opens up more possibilities for stronger teams, like Portland, to make their way into the play-in tournament. With the really unfortunate news that Jaren Jackson Jr. will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, the Grizzlies’ fall now seems almost inevitable.

Utah, meanwhile, sits in 5th place in the West, just a half-game ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder and a half-game behind the Houston Rockets. The Clippers want to make sure Houston stays in the 4-5 matchup–that means Denver winning to hold on to 3rd, and OKC and/or Utah losing to fall securely to 6th.

Because of Utah’s unlikeliness to be able to keep up with the surging Houston Rockets over the full bubble slate, it would be easy to pull for them here in order to help other teams get into the 8-seed battle. But ultimately, the stakes in the race for 8th are low for the Clippers–the Lakers are likely sweeping all of the contending teams. Avoiding Houston in the 2nd round is paramount, so we’ll keep our priorities in order.

Philadelphia 76ers vs Washington Wizards, 1:00pm, NBATV

Rooting for: Philadelphia 76ers

I’m going to reverse course a bit and root for the Sixers to win 5th place over the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference. Philly is probably one of the least fun teams in the league, but a focused Sixers team has the talent and experience to give Milwaukee a tough series in the 2nd round, no matter how joyless they make basketball.

Fortunately, this is a freebie for the Sixers, as Washington is primed to go 0-8 in the bubble. Unfortunately, they’re the Sixers, so they might lose just for the hell of it.

Denver Nuggets vs San Antonio Spurs, 1:00pm, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Denver Nuggets

With two teams involved in relevant Western Conference seeding races, this is likely the most important of the NBA’s August 5th bubble games for us to keep an eye on.

The Clippers want to be cautious of Denver, who is right on their heels in the 2-3 race in the West, but also need the Nuggets to keep winning and avoid being passed by the 4th-place Houston Rockets. If anything, Denver-LAC-Houston is a preferable 2-3-4 finish to LAC-Houston-Denver, as homecourt advantage in the second round is meaningless and the Clippers should be able to win their first-round series regardless of opponent.

Needing a Denver win is nice, because we’d also like to see a Spurs loss here. Despite looking sturdy in the bubble (2-1, with their loss to Philly on a game-winner in the closing seconds), I am not yet a believer in San Antonio, and they simply are providing competition for Portland and New Orleans, two teams that I rate more highly. Hell, maybe Devin Booker’s Suns belong in the conversation too (though they would need a miraculous run to reach the play-in tournament).

Oklahoma City Thunder vs Los Angeles Lakers, 3:30pm, ESPN

Rooting for: Los Angeles Lakers

This is a rough one for Clippers fans, who will struggle with wanting their most bitter rival to come away with a win over the unofficial second-favorite team of Clipper Nation: the OKC Thunder with Chris Paul, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Danilo Gallinari.

But OKC’s shared duty with the Utah Jazz to be the backstop keeping Houston from falling to 6th is more important than our personal preferences, so I’d be happier to see a Lakers victory here.

But, as always, any Lakers loss helps the Clippers a bit, as we’d love to see them suffer a little losing streak and head into the playoffs with some worries about their weak guard rotation. I also feel like Houston will outpace OKC and Utah without needing much help. So, not the end of the world if OKC wins here.

Toronto Raptors vs Orlando Magic, 5:00pm, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Toronto Raptors

I’m more and more feeling like Toronto and Milwaukee might be a tighter contest in the Eastern Conference Finals than we’ve admitted all year–and while that obviously means I have tremendous respect for the Raptors, I still would feel better about playing them than the Bucks (though the narrative power of Kawhi against the Raptors would be overwhelming).

So, in the most inconsequential match-up of the NBA’s August 5th bubble games, the Raptors will get to potentially set Orlando back in their tussle for 7/8 with Brooklyn, making it more likely that the Bucks face an actual NBA team in the first round… though after Brooklyn upset Milwaukee today, who knows what’s best.

Brooklyn Nets vs Boston Celtics, 6:00pm, ESPN

Rooting for: Brooklyn Nets

Can lightning strike twice? Brooklyn beat Milwaukee on Tuesday, though the Bucks treated it like a pre-season game, playing all 13 active players double-digit minutes, with Giannis Antetokounmpo playing just 16.

In order for Boston to be passed by Miami, they need to do 2 games worse than the Heat in the bubble. Thanks to Miami’s win over Boston yesterday, the Heat have made up one of those 2 games. Miami’s last 5 games: Milwaukee, Phoenix, Indiana, Oklahoma City, Indiana. Boston’s: Brooklyn, Toronto, Orlando, Memphis, Washington. That’s a pretty significant schedule advantage for the Celtics, so they’ll need to lose at least one game they have no business losing for this to get interesting.

In the race for 7th in the East, Brooklyn now has a half-game advantage over the Magic, with both teams having 5 games remaining. They’ll both be underdogs in their remaining contests, making their head-to-head match-up in game 7 crucial in that race.

Yesterday’s Games

Brooklyn Nets 119, Milwaukee Bucks 116

We were rooting for: Brooklyn Nets

As I mentioned above, this wasn’t really the upset one might believe based on the scoreline, and the Bucks treated it like a pre-season game and played second- and third-string player major minutes, using what is essentially a free game to get different players reps. Milwaukee is locked in to the 1-seed in the East and faces no consequences for any losses in seeding games.

But for the Nets, the 7/8 race against Orlando is a coin flip. I don’t really think this one matters–both teams will get swept by Milwaukee and Toronto regardless of who faces whom, but that doesn’t mean that Brooklyn can’t take some pride in their play and try to finish 7th instead of 8th.

Dallas Mavericks 114, Sacramento Kings 110 (OT)

We were rooting for: Sacramento Kings

Despite Sacramento’s repeated letdowns in the bubble, they still have an outside shot at life–with Memphis likely to slide in the standings and the Kings having two head-to-head games against New Orleans remaining, they’ll need to pass the Suns and either Portland or San Antonio to reach the play-in tournament. It helps that the Kings still have a game left against Brooklyn, plus a more difficult contest vs the Houston Rockets and a finale against the Los Angeles Lakers, who could rest players. The margin for error, though, is virtually nonexistent–if they even go 4-1 in these last 5 games, they need Memphis to go 0-8.

For Dallas, it’s a sign of relief to get a win at last in the bubble, and keeps an outside shot that the Mavs could climb in the standings: it’s possible if they go 4-1 in their last 5 games (Clippers, Bucks, Jazz, Blazers, and Suns) and Oklahoma City and/or Utah struggle, or even if Dallas goes 3-2 and either of those teams truly plummets.

Phoenix Suns 117, Los Angeles Clippers 115

We were rooting for: our team

I won’t talk about the game itself here, as I wrote the recap and you can read my thoughts there.

What I will say is that the Clippers are still in the driver’s seat for the 2nd seed, but not firmly in control–their 7th seeding game vs Denver could decide the race if LAC doesn’t get separation before then.

For Phoenix, the road to a play-in game doesn’t look very passable, but as long as they’re undefeated, I won’t count them out. They have a tough last 5 games with no head-to-head opportunities against their competitors (Indiana, Miami, OKC, Philly, Dallas), and can only really afford one loss before they start needing serious help from the teams ahead of them. At 7-1, they’d be ahead of Portland, New Orleans, and Sacramento if those teams go 4-4, and San Antonio if they go 5-3. But if Phoenix loses 2 games, or any of those teams–eyes on Portland–do better than 4-4, things get dicey.

Orlando Magic 109, Indiana Pacers 120

We were rooting for: Indiana Pacers

The Pacers are pulling away in the race for NBA bubble darlings; they’re now 3-0 while missing key players, and TJ Warren has, by my count, 118 points in those three games. I don’t know how much noise they’re capable of making in the playoffs, but the ride so far has been fun.

Orlando’s loss impacts the 7/8 race as discussed above.

Boston Celtics 106, Miami Heat 112

We were rooting for: Miami Heat

The race for 3rd between these two was discussed in-depth above, so I’ll just pause for a moment here to say that this was a phenomenal bubble game, and Miami winning this one without Jimmy Butler is impressive.

Houston Rockets 102, Portland Trail Blazers 110

We were rooting for: Portland Trail Blazers

Portland came through last night in a game that was really a joy to watch, and now are 2-1 in the bubble. If they finish 6-2, they’ll be in the play-in game, while 5-3 likely qualifies them and 4-4 leaves things up to fate. With games left against Denver, the Clippers, Philly, Dallas, and Brooklyn, a 5-3 finish seems attainable if they continue playing well.

Houston’s loss helps slow them down and keep Denver a little safe in 3rd. The Jazz and Thunder haven’t quite fallen enough to insulate Houston from a slide to 6th if they struggle, but I think Houston’s most likely landing spot is now 4th.

Stay tuned in to 213Hoops every day of the NBA’s Orlando Bubble for a new Rooting Interests.

213Hoops is an independently owned and operated L.A. Clippers blog by Clippers fans, for Clippers fans. If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our Patreon. Subscriptions start at $1 a month and support from readers like you goes a long way towards helping us keep 213Hoops sustainable, growing, and thriving.

Rooting Interests: The NBA’s August 5th Bubble Games
Lucas Hann

Are you a Clippers fan who isn’t sure who to root for in the NBA’s August 3rd bubble games? You’re in the right place.

With each team playing just eight “seeding games” in Orlando before the playoffs begin, there’s limited time to both battle for playoff positioning as well as build momentum after a four-month layoff. That means that, while we obviously want the Clippers to be successful, Clippers fans can’t just pay attention to LAC–nearly every game played in the NBA over the next two weeks is important to the playoff picture.

Bubble play has been fantastic so far, with teams like Houston and Portland catching the attention of the national audience. There’s another full slate of exciting matchups in the NBA’s August 3rd bubble games, so let’s check out who the Clippers want to win in each.

The NBA’s August 3rd Bubble Games

All times pacific time.

Toronto Raptors vs Miami Heat, 10:30am, NBATV

Rooting for: Miami Heat

While Toronto is securely locked in to the 2nd seed in the East, Miami is in 4th with an outside shot of passing the Boston Celtics to claim the 3-seed. That would likely mean Milwaukee facing Boston in the 2nd round and then Toronto in the Eastern Conference Finals, giving them their toughest possible path to the Finals.

Unfortunately, Toronto won’t be an easy out (unless they’re also angling for Miami to move up). The Heat also play the Celtics on Tuesday, so this back-to-back is crucial for their hope of climbing–and two losses would send them reeling back towards Indiana and Philadelphia at 5 and 6.

Denver Nuggets vs Oklahoma City Thunder, 1:00pm, NBATV

Rooting for: Oklahoma City Thunder

This is likely the most important of the NBA’s August 3rd bubble games. The good news about these two teams playing is that one of them is guaranteed a win today. The bad news is that the other will pick up a loss.

Currently, Denver sits in 3rd and OKC in 6th–but with a razor-thin margin between the two, and the Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz between them. In order for Houston to stay in the 4-5 first-round matchup (and therefore face the Lakers, not the Clippers, in the second round), at least one of the other 3 teams needs to finish ahead of them and at least one needs to finish behind them.

The Utah Jazz, who don’t seem to have a lot of firepower without Bogdan Bodganovic, are the likely choice to fall to 6th. With Denver shorthanded in their early bubble games, that means Oklahoma City is our most likely non-Houston 3rd seed, so we’ll root for them here despite it making the standings even more tightly packed–but if the results start to give clarity to the Western Conference standings in the coming days, we could easily switch course to whatever scenario is most likely to keep Houston in the 4-5.

Indiana Pacers vs Washington Wizards, 1:00pm, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Indiana Pacers

We’re splitting hairs to find an angle here, but with the Wizards all but mathematically out of the playoff picture in the East, I would rather see Indiana’s cohesive squad keep the 5-seed over the dysfunctional Philadelphia 76ers. We’ll see, though–if Philly can get some things figured out, they’re a threat to the East’s top teams in a way the Pacers simply aren’t. But Philly figuring it out isn’t something I’m holding my breath waiting for.

Memphis Grizzlies vs New Orleans Pelicans, 3:30pm, ESPN

Rooting for: New Orleans Pelicans

I’m not a big believer in the Pelicans as the team that should challenge the Lakers in the first round–my support for Portland is well established–but with the current play-in spots held by Memphis and San Antonio, we’ll be rooting against both of those teams to lose nightly in hopes of someone else entering the picture.

Hopefully that someone else is Portland, but a win here would also keep the Pelicans in the conversation–though at the very edge of it.

One more far-off angle: the Pelicans play the Spurs later in the bubble. Keeping New Orleans’ hope alive makes it more likely that they actually contest that game against San Antonio on August 9th.

San Antonio Spurs vs Philadelphia 76ers, 5:00pm, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Philadelphia 76ers

As I said two games up, I’m not crazy about Philly–but as I said one game up, we’re rooting against San Antonio and Memphis until further notice. A Spurs loss would match Portland’s loss to Boston Sunday (though San Antonio will only have 5 games left to play while Portland has 6). If the two finish level in the bubble, Portland will be ahead on win percentage due to their extra regular-season games before the season was suspended.

Los Angeles Lakers vs Utah Jazz, 6:00pm, ESPN

Rooting for: Los Angeles Lakers

If we have to root for the Lakers to win to help the Clippers out with seeding, at least we get to do it rooting against the Jazz, who I dislike almost as strongly.

To reference back to the discussion of Denver vs OKC above, I feel like Utah is the most likely team in the 3-6 cluster to fall to 6th and serve as a floor to protect Houston from falling out of the 4-5 matchup. A loss here puts them on track, as they’d be 1-2 in the bubble compared to Houston’s 2-0.

Plus, Utah’s next two games are against Memphis and San Antonio (with another game against the Spurs to close bubble play). Keeping Utah hungry for those games is a good thing, as long as Houston wins more of their remaining games than the Jazz do and maintain the 5th seed.

Yesterday’s Games

Brooklyn Nets 118, Washington Wizards 110

We were rooting for: Washington Wizards

With this game, hopes of a play-in tournament for the 8 seed in the East died. Washington, the clear worst team in the bubble, are now 7 losses back of Brooklyn, the clear second-worst team in the bubble. The Wizards simply are not going to find 3 wins anywhere on their schedule, even if you make the (reasonable) assumption that Brooklyn will lose out.

Portland Trail Blazers 124, Boston Celtics 128

We were rooting for: Portland Trail Blazers

This game was a blast, and despite their unfortunate loss, Portland’s ability to come back and play a one-possession game against one of the league’s best teams inspires further confidence that they are a step above the West’s other 8-seed contenders.

The bad news: they did lose, putting them at a disadvantage to qualify for the play-in tournament, and it was a costly loss in terms of fatigue: 44 minutes for Damian Lillard and 41 minutes for CJ McConnell. That’s a lot of mileage to walk away without the result.

For our Eastern Conference sub-plot, a Boston loss would have furthered the possibility of Miami claiming the 3rd seed–but the more significant game in that race is Tuesday’s head-to-head between the two teams.

San Antonio Spurs 108, Memphis Grizzlies 106

We were rooting for: Memphis Grizzlies

I wrote yesterday that I struggled making my pick for this game, so we can’t be too upset that it didn’t go how we hoped.

The Spurs’ narrow win, plus the Blazers’ narrow loss, puts San Antonio control in the race for 9th between the two without an upcoming head-to-head between them. Portland now needs to make up a loss on the Spurs to take 9th back.

The silver lining is that the Grizzlies continue to struggle. While they entered the bubble with a substantive lead for 8th place, they’re now 0-2 in Orlando (hopefully picking up a third loss to New Orleans Monday). If they go 2-6 or worse in their eight bubble games, they could potentially fall out of the play-in tournament altogether, helping Portland’s odds.

Orlando Magic 132, Sacramento Kings 116

We were rooting for: Sacramento Kings

Come on, Kings. While we had hoped for an Orlando loss to keep them in 8th place, it’s even more disappointing that a team with the potential to play some fun basketball in Sacramento have seemingly decided not to show up to the bubble.

Don’t let the final score fool you–the Kings trailed by as much as 36 in this one to a not-great Orlando team.

Milwaukee Bucks 116, Houston Rockets 120

We were rooting for: Houston Rockets

The Rockets’ rather impressive win against the league’s best team helps the goal of keeping them out of 6th place in the West and a potential second-round date with the Clippers–but with the toughest challenge on their schedule behind them and no losses on the board, concern is beginning to shift to their potential to climb all the way to 3rd.

Houston showed off exactly why they’re the scariest upset threat to both LA teams tonight, with a high-variance three-point attack that can spark runs and a weird collection of undersized veterans. They trailed 112-104 with 3:14 to play in this game. Look at the final score again.

Dallas Mavericks 115, Phoenix Suns 117

We were rooting for: Phoenix Suns

The Suns are now 2-0 in the bubble (though their competition hasn’t been as stiff as others’), and Dallas looks like they have questions to answer after losing to a 13th-place Suns team despite playing Luka Doncic 38 minutes and Devin Booker fouling out.

Phoenix is still in 13th place despite their 2-0 start, and it’s hard to get excited about their play-in hopes when they need to go at least 7-1, plus the perfect combination of teams ahead of them struggling, to have a realistic shot at ending up in 9th. That’s going to be a long shot, as they’ve played 2 of their 3 easiest games to start, with the 3rd coming against Dallas again to close bubble play.

Stay tuned in to 213Hoops every day of the NBA’s Orlando Bubble for a new Rooting Interests, letting you know who Clippers fans should root for in each of the day’s games.

Rooting Interests: The NBA’s August 3rd Bubble Games
Lucas Hann