According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, the LA Clippers are engaged in three-team trade talks that would bring Malcolm Brogdon to Los Angeles in exchange for Marcus Morris and draft compensation. The Clippers’ package would be rerouted to the Wizards, with Kristaps Porzingis headed to Boston. It’s unclear if veteran guard Chris Paul, who is heading to Washington as part of the agreed-upon Bradley Beal trade and rumored to be rerouted to the Clippers, would be a part of this or not.

Malcom Brogdon is a strong fit for the Clippers, a versatile 6’5″ defensive guard who can contribute offensively in on- and off-ball roles. He averaged 20 points and 6 assists in a lead guard role for the Indiana Pacers across the 2021 and 2022 NBA seasons before playing a lower-usage 6th man role on the championship-contending Boston Celtics last year, where his efficiency skyrocketed. While this move isn’t finalized and the Clippers likely have more to come, Brogdon is almost assuredly going to start next season, and he will likely try to take the reins as the number 3 guy alongside Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. Brogdon’s main drawback, in true Clipper fashion, has been his availability; he’s averaged 24.5 games missed over the last 6 seasons. At 30 years old, it seems unlikely that he’ll suddenly develop durability as a Clipper.

While giving up on Marcus Morris is no loss to the Clippers–the veteran power forward played his way out of the rotation late last season, has been rumored to be dissatisfied with his role (which he refuted on Instagram), and overall it felt like the relationship had just fully run its course–it remains to be seen what the full picture of this trade would be. Morris alone doesn’t send out enough salary to bring back Brogdon, who has 2 seasons remaining on his contract at $22.5M each, though the math is close enough that simple filler, like Jason Preston or Brandon Boston Jr., could help complete the trade. There’s also the matter of draft compensation. What exactly is Washington due if Porzingis flexes the leverage of his player option? Opt-in-and-trade deals simply don’t net the same kind of return that a player gets when he doesn’t have the option to walk away as a free agent next week, as Clippers fans will recall with the return from sending Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets in a similar situation 6 years ago. And if the Celtics are getting a desired upgrade from Brogdon to Porzingis, shouldn’t they be pitching in to get that upgrade as well? The Clippers have some options, and while Brogdon is a good addition, I would be against over-committing assets to acquire a non-star at this stage of the 213 era.

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.

NBA Trade Rumors: Clippers in Malcolm Brogdon talks
Lucas Hann

Are you a Clippers fan who isn’t sure who to root for in the NBA’s August 11th 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.

Monday’s games began to provide more clarity in some of the seeding races out West, and more will come as the teams that have stubbornly refused to separate from each other throughout bubble play face their final, crucial games this week.

The NBA’s August 11th Bubble Games

All times Pacific Time.

Brooklyn Nets vs Orlando Magic, 10:00am, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Orlando Magic

These teams have clinched 7th and 8th in the East already, making what could have been a climactic late-bubble head-to-head relatively meaningless. I’d like to see Orlando win to help them build a little momentum heading into their first-round series with Milwaukee, but this game really isn’t an important one.

Houston Rockets vs San Antonio Spurs, 11:00am, NBATV

Rooting for: San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs are still technically alive in the fight for the 8/9 play-in tournament, and we’d actually like to see those hopes squashed. Portland and Phoenix are the two stronger teams that we’d like to see potentially play the Lakers, and if they can’t battle each other in the play-in, then we’d like them to face the weaker Memphis Grizzlies, who seem likely to go just 1-7 or 2-6 in bubble play.

But a Houston loss is far more important to the Clippers than the play-in race at the bottom of the conference. Currently, the Clippers’ magic # to finish above Houston is 1–that means just a single LAC win or Rockets loss puts the Clippers officially in 2nd or 3rd and closes the door on a nightmare scenario where they fall to 4th and face the Lakers in the second round instead of the Western Conference Finals.

After the Lakers beat the Nuggets Monday night, Houston winning out would drastically increase their chances of moving up into 3rd. If they lose just one game, though, Denver will have a significant upper hand in the race for 3rd–and could clinch a top-3 finish by beating the Clippers Wednesday night.

And if the Rox lose this week, that Denver win becomes more likely. Once the Clippers know that the Rockets cannot pass them, it gives them the flexibility to manage their remaining games (vs Denver on Wednesday and vs OKC on Friday) to manipulate the standings and set up their preferred bracket.

Houston is holding James Harden out of this game, and Eric Gordon continues to be out, so Russell Westbrook will have his hands full. It’s still a winnable contest for the Rockets without Harden and Gordon, but hopefully those absences and this game coming on the front end of a back-to-back are an indicator that Houston will limit their starters’ minutes and concede this one, clinching a top-3 finish for LAC.

Phoenix Suns vs Philadelphia 76ers, 1:30pm, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Phoenix Suns

Man, if you had told me that the Suns would be the NBA bubble’s must-watch team, I wouldn’t have believed you. But here we are, with a perfect 6-0 Suns team really looking like they might pull off a play-in berth.

At 8-0, the Suns wouldn’t clinch a spot, but they would force Portland to be perfect (finishing 6-2) to stay ahead of them. The 8-0 Suns would also move ahead of Memphis if the Grizzlies finish 1-7. But if the Blazers win their final two games (DAL/BKN) and the Grizzlies win even one more game (BOS/MIL), Phoenix could see their 8-0 record leave them in 10th, out of the play-in picture.

7-1 doesn’t mathematically eliminate them, but they could no longer pass Memphis and would need the Blazers to lose both remaining games, plus the Spurs to pick up another loss, in order to finish 8th to Memphis’ 9th.

We don’t really care about the Sixers here. They’ll have a chance to move up from 6th into the 4/5 matchup, as Indiana and Miami have another head-to-head coming up this week, but I don’t buy them as an impactful playoff competitor with how they’ve trended in recent weeks (and all year).

Boston Celtics vs Memphis Grizzlies, 2:00pm, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Boston Celtics

As I just mentioned, Memphis losses greatly help the Suns stay strong in the play-in race. With two losses in their final two games, the Grizzlies could drop out of the play-in tournament entirely, opening up the spots for the Suns and Blazers to challenge each other.

Short of that, though, we’d still prefer for Memphis to lose at least one more game, leaving the door open for Portland to finish 8th. Remember, the 8th-place team only needs to beat 9th once to qualify, while 9th needs to beat 8th twice in a row. Portland reaching the 8th position would not only increase their chances of advancing but also give them an opportunity to do so while playing one fewer game.

Portland Trail Blazers vs Dallas Mavericks, 3:30pm, TNT

Rooting for: Portland Trail Blazers

It’s a full day of the play-in race, as San Antonio, Phoenix, Memphis, and Portland play back-to-back-to-back-to-back in Tuesday’s first four games. We want Portland to win here, for reasons that have mostly already been laid out above. This would give them their 5th win, and leave them needing just one last victory against the lowly Brooklyn Nets (we saw how that went for the Clippers) to not only clinch a play-in berth but in all likelihood finish in the 8th position.

One interesting sub-plot to watch if this game doesn’t go Portland’s way: Utah’s struggles (the Jazz are 2-5 so far in the bubble) has opened the door for Dallas to move ahead of the Jazz and/or Thunder. Dallas’ last game after Portland is against Phoenix on Thursday. Oklahoma City has two games left, against the Heat Wednesday and Clippers Friday. Utah’s finale comes against the Spurs on Thursday.

If Dallas wins out, including Tuesday’s game against Portland, they put themselves in a position to pass Utah if the Jazz lose to San Antonio as well as potentially pass the Thunder if OKC loses their final two games. In that case, Utah would finish 7th to OKC’s 6th on tiebreaker. I’m not ready to root for Dallas just to make this scenario materialize (and frankly I like the Clippers’ match-up with Dallas in a 2-7), as too many things need to happen with 0 margin for error. But it’s something we’ll definitely track if they win here.

New Orleans Pelicans vs Sacramento Kings, 6:00pm, TNT

Milwaukee Bucks vs Washington Wizards, 6:00pm, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: taking the night off

After a bunch of impactful games earlier in the day, this dual nightcaps are both sleepers. On TNT, we’ve got the two earliest eliminated teams in the Western Conference playing head-to-head. This could have been a fun and impactful contest if either team showed up to Orlando intending to compete, but they both seemed eager to go home as quickly as possible.

On NBA League Pass, the league-leading Milwaukee Bucks have already clinched the no. 1 seed in the East and will be playing on the second night of a back-to-back against a Wizards team that is 0-6 in the bubble and didn’t bring their best players to Orlando (not that their roster was very competitive when intact).

There’s been a lot of basketball over the last few weeks. This pairing Tuesday evening makes for a nice excuse to watch something else (or maybe go outside, if you’re into that kind of thing), and get ready for an important Wednesday, where the Clippers could clinch the 2nd seed, and the right combination of outcomes could officially block Denver into 4th as well.

Yesterday’s Games

Oklahoma City Thunder 101, Phoenix Suns 128

We were rooting for: Phoenix Suns

The Suns improved to 6-0, notably against an OKC team that rested their entire starting lineup except for Chris Paul (who only played 24 minutes). We talked enough about the road ahead for Phoenix above, but OKC’s throw here is enough to make you wonder if the Thunder see the standings taking shape ahead of them and want to play Denver in the first round instead of Houston.

Dallas Mavericks 122, Utah Jazz 114

We were rooting for: Utah Jazz

It would have been really nice to see the Jazz win here and put themselves in position to finish ahead of the Thunder in the standings, as we’d like to see a slugfest between OKC and Denver in the first round tire out LAC’s 2nd round opponent while the Rockets get an easier match-up in Utah and rest up before facing the Lakers.

But the Jazz can read the standings too, and they feel the sting from two 5-game eliminations at the hands of James Harden and the Rockets the last two years. They sat Donovan Mitchell today and no starter played more than 16 minutes. With the Thunder, we’re wondering if they’re throwing games to avoid Houston–with the Jazz, we know it.

Toronto Raptors 114, Milwaukee Bucks 108

We were rooting for: nobody

This game didn’t matter for anyone, least of all the two teams playing. Milwaukee and Toronto have both cliched the 1 and 2 seeds in the East, respectively, and are favorites to play each other in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Indiana Pacers 92, Miami Heat 114

We were rooting for: Miami Heat

Not that it’s a huge deal, but in a compact 4-5-6 race in the East between these two teams and Philadelphia, Miami is the strongest, so we’re glad to see them stay in 4th and presumably take on Milwaukee in the second round.

Denver Nuggets 121, Los Angeles Lakers 124

We were rooting for: Denver Nuggets

This game was deeply disappointing, as the Nuggets could have easily come away victorious but chose instead to rest their starters down the stretch, ultimately losing to a Kyle Kuzma game-winner that put the Lakers up by 3. The Nuggets, trailing by 3, attempted a 2-point shot at the buzzer, if you were wondering how interested this tired, shorthanded Denver squad was in another overtime game.

Now, Denver has severely jeopardized their odds of landing in the 3-seed in the West. A Clippers win over Denver on Wednesday–which would clinch the 2-seed for LAC (which means a lot, since they are currently still able to slide all the way to 4th) would set the Nuggets back even further in the 3/4 race with Houston. This is where the Clippers’ bad loss to Brooklyn really hurts–if they had taken care of business, there would be no way for LAC to fall to 4th regardless of the Rockets’ upcoming success.

A lot depends on how Houston fares in their Tuesday/Wednesday back-to-back, but if the Rockets win both games and the Clippers beat the Nuggets on Denver, Houston will be squarely in the driver’s seat to finish 3rd heading into Friday’s finales.

Denver’s magic number to finish ahead of Houston is 2–that means 2 Nuggets wins or Rockets losses, with Denver having 2 games left to play to Houston’s 3. That means if the Nuggets split their games because the Clippers beat them, then Houston can secure the 3-seed by winning out.

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 11th 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

Are you a Clippers fan who isn’t sure who to root for in the NBA’s August 2nd 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, nearly every game played in the NBA over the next two weeks is important to the playoff picture.

The bubble opened with a series of stellar games on Thursday and Friday, and while Saturday saw some more one-sided affairs, it’s clear that a lot of teams are already playing high-quality basketball. I’m looking forward to another full day of NBA games on Sunday.

The NBA’s August 2nd Bubble Games

All times pacific time.

Washington Wizards vs Brooklyn Nets, 11:00am, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Washington Wizards

The Wizards, in 9th place, are a clean 6 games back from the Nets in 8th. That means they need to win this head-to-head game and make up another game elsewhere to force a rematch between these two clubs in the play-in tournament. If the Wizards finish more than 4 games behind Brooklyn, the Nets will not have to defend their 8th seed in a play-in.

Reader “G Rap Old School Like Your Dad” noted a couple of days ago that he preferred Brooklyn do well, potentially finishing ahead of the Orlando Magic for the 7th seed. This would leave the Magic in 8th, who would be a tougher first-round draw for the Milwaukee Bucks. But despite having more legitimate NBA talent on their roster, I don’t see Orlando actually challenging Milwaukee. At the same time, I never considered Brooklyn staying in front of Orlando realistic.

If the Nets win this game, the 8-9 race in the East will be all but over and we can shift our focus to G Rap’s line of thinking–but for now, I’m still pulling for a play-in in the East.

Portland Trail Blazers vs Boston Celtics, 12:30pm, ABC

Rooting for: Portland Trail Blazers

The Celtics will be favored here, but a Blazers upset would be doubly good: not only pushing Portland closer to securing a spot in the West play-in tournament, but also pushing Boston further back towards 4th-place Miami. Remember, Miami and Boston play head-to-head on Tuesday, and if Miami moves into 3rd then the Bucks could end up having to face the Celtics and Raptors back-to-back in order to make the Finals.

Something to watch for: Portland has rather shallow depth, and played just 8 men during their opener against Memphis. They played nearly the whole game with two bigs on the floor, and a suspect small forward rotation of Carmelo Anthony, Mario Hezonja, and Gary Trent Jr. The Celtics’ small lineups wing scorers–particularly Jayson Tatum–will pose an interesting stylistic challenge, and Portland’s ability to counter them will be telling.

San Antonio Spurs vs Memphis Grizzlies, 1pm, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Memphis Grizzlies

I don’t want to say that this game isn’t important–it might be the most important of the NBA’s August 2nd bubble games. I just don’t really know who we want to win. I originally had Memphis, then switched to the Spurs, and finally came back to Memphis after writing this breakdown.

On the one hand, a Memphis loss brings them closer to Portland. It would be especially beneficial if the Blazers could move into 8th in advance of the play-in tournament, giving them a higher chance of earning the playoff spot.

But a Spurs win brings them right in stride with the Blazers, and if the Blazers also lose to Boston, the Spurs pull into 9th. I just don’t buy the Spurs giving the Lakers any sort of trouble, so keeping them out of the play-in spots would be advantageous.

That said, this game is ultimately close enough for me that I’m willing to say that while it will be impactful, it’s hard to know which result is preferable. Either of these teams could end up facing the Lakers, and while neither is an inspiring 8-seed, letting whoever gets hot in the bubble take a crack at the top team in the West isn’t the worst thing. So, we need more time before deciding who to throw our support behind.

Sacramento Kings vs Orlando Magic, 3:00pm, NBATV

Rooting for: Sacramento Kings

I don’t love the idea of the race for the West play-in getting even tighter with a Kings win, which could lead to a virtual three-way tie for 9th pending the outcomes of Portland and San Antonio’s games today.

But in the spirit of “the team most likely to challenge the Lakers is the team that gets hot in the bubble,” we might as well root for Sacramento to grow a bit and start playing some good basketball. Maybe they’ll surprise us. If they don’t, then they won’t end up in the play-in tournament anyway.

Plus, an Orlando loss keeps them in the conversation to potentially finish 8th, giving Milwaukee the marginally tougher first-round opponent as discussed above.

Check out our friends at The Kings Herald for their coverage of the game.

Milwaukee Bucks vs Houston Rockets, 5:30pm, ABC

Rooting for: Houston Rockets

Keeping Houston in the 4-5 first round match-up is probably the most important thing for the Clippers (outside of holding on to 2nd for themselves). Beyond that, it matters less which of Oklahoma City and Utah finish in 4th and 6th (with a growing chance that Denver could slide and Oklahoma City could move up to third).

But with the three teams virtually tied (Utah is just a half game ahead of the other two after OKC destroyed them on Saturday), we need Houston to keep pace and not slide into 6th. That will be tough against a stellar Milwaukee team.

Dallas Mavericks vs Phoenix Suns, 6:00pm, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Phoenix Suns

The nightcap of the NBA’s August 2nd bubble games is perhaps the least significant. Dallas, 4 losses behind 6th place and 6 losses ahead of 8th, is virtually immobile in their 7th seed. Phoenix is a clear 13th in the West despite winning their opening bubble game, and would need more than they have in the tank to climb into the play-in tournament.

So, while I wouldn’t hate to see a team like Phoenix take some losses and drop out of contention to begin to clarify the playoff race, I’ll lean towards Dallas losses shaking their confidence and form heading into a first-round series against the Clippers. I won’t be rooting for Dallas unless there’s a clear advantage to the Clippers if they win (like if their August 10th game against Utah would clearly push Utah to 6th and Houston to 5th).

That’s it for the NBA’s August 2nd bubble games–let’s briefly see how Saturday went.

Yesterday’s Games

Miami Heat 125, Denver Nuggets 105

We were rooting for: Miami Heat

It was a day of blowouts for ESPN’s quadruple-header, and the Heat started it with an emphatic morning stomping of the shorthanded Nuggets. Denver won’t be this bad when they’re at full strength–but there’s a short timer to get things going in the bubble, and I’d believe it if you told me they were going to lose their first-round series.

The 3-seed seems within reach for teams like Houston and particularly Oklahoma City, who have a relatively light schedule. The Thunder and Nuggets play Monday in what could be a huge game.

Oklahoma City Thunder 110, Utah Jazz 94

We were rooting for: Utah Jazz

This was a resounding beatdown by the Thunder, and after originally wanting Utah to win to preserve the 4-5-6 order between Utah, Houston, and OKC, I left this game thinking that Utah is the team more likely to fall to 6th and keep the Rockets away from the Clippers’ side of the bracket. Now I’m wondering if OKC can rise to 3.

New Orleans Pelicans 103, LA Clippers 126

We were rooting for: the record-breakers

Of all of Saturday’s blowouts, the Clippers’ defeathering of the Pelicans was the most ruthless, with LA leading by as many as 42 before New Orleans cut into the lead in garbage time.

Check out Niels Pineda’s full recap of the game.

Philadelphia 76ers 121, Indiana Pacers 127

We were rooting for: Indiana Pacers

As I wrote yesterday, Philly is probably the preferable 5th seed because their talent gives them a higher ceiling to provide a challenge to the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2nd round.

But they have to actually be good enough at basketball to put that talent to use, and they clearly aren’t right now. After struggling all season, I don’t have a lot of faith in them to get there.

Shoutout to T.J. Warren, who the Pacers acquired from the Phoenix Suns for cash, for having 53 (fifty-three!) points in this one.

Los Angeles Lakers 92, Toronto Raptors 107

We were rooting for: Toronto Raptors

There’s no shame in losing to the Raptors, who are legitimately the second-best team in the East and a potential Finals opponent for the LA. But with both of these teams locked into their seeds, the only notable impact of a game like this is the Lakers potentially losing a bit of confidence.

Plus, we never want to root for the Lakers unless we absolutely have to.

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.

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 2nd Bubble Games
Lucas Hann

Are you a LA Clippers fan who isn’t sure who to root for in the NBA’s July 31st bubble games? Don’t worry, you’ve come to the right place.

The excitement of having Clippers basketball back on the television–even in empty stadiums during a pandemic–is undeniable. But if you’re anything like me, you won’t stop at watching the Clippers play every other day for the next couple of weeks until the playoffs begin. I know that I plan on camping in front of the TV and watching multiple games every day, keeping tabs on various teams around the league both for my personal enjoyment and to keep tabs on the Clippers’ likely playoff opponents (extra focus on Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers games).

But even when we’re watching other teams, the Clippers are always on our minds. The 8 games each team is playing before the playoffs begin are aptly named “seeding” games. As teams use them to jostle for playoff positioning, there are potential ramifications on the Clippers’ own seeding as well as which teams end up on their side of the bracket. So, whether you’re having an NBA marathon today or just skimming box scores, here the NBA’s slate of July 31st bubble games, with notes on who Clippers fans should be rooting for in each.

The NBA’s July 31st Bubble Games

All times Pacific time.

Orlando Magic vs Brooklyn Nets: 11:30am, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Orlando Magic

Well, we’re starting out with a real stinker. There isn’t much intrigue to either of these teams, who are both under .500 and currently occupy the 7th and 8th spots in the East. However, while it doesn’t matter much to the Clippers, I’ll be quietly pulling for Orlando here.

Why? In each conference, the 9th-place team has the opportunity to trigger a “play-in” game if they finish the seeding games within 4 games of the 8th-place team. Under the play-in rules, the 9th-place team would have to beat the 8th-place team on consecutive nights to earn a playoff berth, while the 8th-place team only needs to win once to secure their spot.

The Western Conference is virtually guaranteed to have a play-in game, and with days on the league calendar reserved for these matches, I would rather have the East playing in a double-header than just watch the West games.

Washington, the 9th-place team in the East, is 5.5 games behind Orlando and 6 games behind Brooklyn, meaning they need to gain ground in order to trigger a play-in game. Unfortunately, the Wizards left Bradley Beal and Davis Bertans at home. Fortunately, the Nets left Kyrie Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, Kevin Durant, Taurean Prince, Wilson Chandler, and DeAndre Jordan at home. Orlando is going to climb into 7th place–it’ll be up to a combination of the Wizards stealing some wins and Brooklyn truly plummeting to make a play-in game happen.

Memphis Grizzlies vs Portland Trail Blazers: 1:00pm, NBATV

Rooting for: Portland Trail Blazers

This game has a little more meaning: the Trail Blazers currently sit in 9th, 3.5 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies. The Blazers have a chance to not only knock Memphis down a peg, but also get a win to distance themselves from the teams clustered closely behind them–remember, only 9th place gets the play-in game, so it does Portland no good to finish within 4 games of Memphis, but in 10th behind New Orleans.

The reason I’m rooting for Portland here is simple: I think that the Blazers pose the greatest challenge to the Los Angeles Lakers in a 1-8 first-round series. Will they beat them? Of course not. But with Zach Collins and Jusuf Nurkic returning to health, the Blazers are better than their record, and Damian Lillard is the best player on any of the teams competing for 8th in the West. Portland is still a deeply flawed team (seriously, their options at small forward are 36-year old Carmelo Anthony, draft bust Mario Hezonja, and second-year 6’5″ guard Gary Trent Jr.), but Dame scoring 50 is the best chance I see for any team to take a game off the Lakers in the first round.

Could one of the other teams jostling down here play well enough to change my mind? Sure! Maybe it’s even Memphis in a resounding victory in this game. But for now, Portland is the team I want to see against the Lakers.

Phoenix Suns vs Washington Wizards, 1:00pm, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Washington Wizards

The Suns are unlikely to pass the four teams needed to get into 9th and earn the play-in game against Memphis–and frankly, I would rather see Portland or New Orleans fighting the Lakers in the first round.

We’ll go the Wizards here, since they need to sneak a couple of wins somewhere to force an East play-in game, and they open the bubble with their two easiest games: Phoenix, and then a big head-to-head against Brooklyn. Two wins would put them within range, just needing to hold steady to trigger the play-in game.

Boston Celtics vs Milwaukee Bucks, 3:30pm, ESPN

Rooting for: Milwaukee Bucks

I’m not too worried about this game–the Clippers won’t see either until a potential NBA Finals–and given the quality of both teams, I’m inclined to just enjoy good basketball. This is the marquee matchup of the NBA’s July 31st bubble games. It’ll be particularly nice to see some more of the Bucks, who are the favorite to make the Finals in the East.

If we have to find an angle, I’d rather see the Bucks win. If the Celtics fall to 4th in the East, the Bucks would have to play them in the 2nd round and then the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference finals. Any Clippers final run goes through the grueling West, so making things tougher on Milwaukee could be advantageous (although, seeing Miami and Bam Adebayo take on the Bucks in the second round would be incredibly fun). Unfortunately, such a slide is unlikely for Boston–they have a fairly easy bubble schedule, with just 3 of their 8 opponents currently over .500.

Sacramento Kings vs San Antonio Spurs, 5pm, NBA League Pass

Rooting for: Sacramento Kings

I don’t think either of these teams will end up 9th and facing the Grizzlies–in fact, I think Portland and New Orleans are both stronger and will likely finish 9th and 10th. But if someone from this matchup is going to impress me enough that I end up rooting for them to steal the 8-seed and challenge the Lakers, it’s the Kings with De’Aaron Fox and co.

Plus, it would make our friends at our sister site, The King’s Herald, very happy.

Houston Rockets vs Dallas Mavericks, 6pm, ESPN

Rooting for: Houston Rockets

Of all of the NBA’s July 31st bubble games, this one is the most important for the Clippers–but it’s also the trickiest, and I’d be lying if I said I’m sure that a Houston win will bring the best outcome for Clippers fans.

Here’s the situation: Houston is currently 6th in the West, but they’re tied at 40-24 with Oklahoma City, and just back of Utah, who won their debut Thursday night and are 42-23. Of the middle-of-the-pack teams in the West, Houston is the scariest, with their two recent NBA MVPs in Russell Westbrook and James Harden leading a high-variance style built around three-point shooting and constant, extreme smallball.

The Clippers want Houston to finish 4th or 5th, both because that would mean avoiding a potential match-up with them, and setting up a possible Lakers-Rockets second-round series. In my opinion, that’s the best chance of the Lakers getting upset before the Western Conference Finals.

The tricky thing is, we don’t want Houston to do too well, lest they pass the Denver Nuggets for 3rd and find themselves in the Clippers’ bracket again. We’ll have to play this by ear as the bubble goes on, but for now, the Clippers want Houston to rise out of 6th place.

On the Mavericks’ side of things, Dallas is in 7th, 3 losses back of Houston (though with 3 extra games played) and 6 losses ahead of 8th-place Memphis. They’re almost certainly not moving, and if they are it’s up–so losses for them work doubly to keep the Clippers’ preferred first-round opponent in 7th, and hopefully put them in bad form heading into that series.

July 30th Results

Utah Jazz 106, New Orleans Pelicans 104

We were rooting for: New Orleans Pelicans

A Jazz loss would have helped Houston’s attempt to stay out of 6th, while a Pelicans win would have had one of the scariest potential 8-seeds start strong.

Plus, I really hate the Jazz.

Los Angeles Lakers 103, Los Angeles Clippers 101

Obviously not the result we were looking for here. To read about the game, check out Thomas Wood’s game recap, or my five takeaways from the game.

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 July 31st Bubble Games
Lucas Hann

According to The Athletic’s David Aldridge, the Clippers will not keep veteran point guard Isaiah Thomas following his acquisition today from the Washington Wizards.

The rationale for this deal, then, must have been as follows: the Clippers wanted to move Jerome Robinson in order to make salaries work for Marcus Morris, and the Knicks did not want Robinson’s guaranteed salary for next season.

The Wizards, then, who coveted Robinson in the 2018 NBA Draft, were willing to take on Robinson for free in order to see if he can thrive more in Washington than he did in Los Angeles.

Now, the Clippers will look elsewhere to fill their need for an emergency point guard–possibly the much-discussed Darren Collison, or newly-waived Trey Burke or Tim Frazier.

Report: Clippers to release Isaiah Thomas
Lucas Hann

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Clippers have acquired Washington Wizards point guard Isaiah Thomas from the Washington Wizards in a three-team trade with the New York Knicks. The Clippers will send Moe Harkless and their 2020 first-round pick to the Knicks for Marcus Morris, as well as Jerome Robinson to the Washington Wizards for Thomas.

Thomas is averaging 12.2 points and 3.7 assists for the Wizards this year in 23.1 minutes per game, while shooting 40.8% from the field and 41.3% from deep.

Breaking News: Clippers acquire Isaiah Thomas in three-team trade
Lucas Hann

According to Caron Butler and David Aldridge, the Washington Wizards are interested in Clippers reserve guard Jerome Robinson.

Robinson has disappointed for the Clippers since being selected 13th overall in the 2018 draft, and it’s highly likely that a change in scenery (and the chance for some minutes on a bad team) could be good for his career. Particularly, he has been unable to hit shots when given opportunities this season despite his reputation and history as a good three-point shooter.

It’s unclear what the Wizards would give the Clippers in such a deal–and unlikely that, assuming their first-round draft pick goes to the New York Knicks in a Marcus Morris trade, they would be able to pry sharpshooter Davis Bertans from Washington. The Wizards do have a large enough trade exception to simply absorb Robinson–but are the Clippers ready to move on from Jerome for what could potentially amount to a second-round pick?

Report: Wizards interested in Clippers’ Jerome Robinson
Lucas Hann