Good morning Clipper nation! Let’s take a glimpse at the results from Monday night and preview Tuesday’s slate of games:
1/24 Results
- Pacers 113, Pelicans 117: It wasn’t pretty, but New Orleans is now just 3 losses behind the Clippers.
- Knicks 93, Cavaliers 95: Cleveland escaped despite a rough offensive fourth quarter, in large part because Kevin Love, who is still in the NBA, made six threes in this game. He’s having a renaissance year and would be a candidate to go to a playoff team at the deadline… if he wasn’t an important part of the rotation for a team that’s just 2 losses out of 1st in the East.
- Bulls 111, Thunder 110: LaVine and Gilgeous-Alexander were both back in the lineup for their respective teams, and SGA had a shot to force OT but missed as Chicago escaped with a road win.
- Jazz 109, Suns 115: It’s a little weird that this game was as close as it was, since Utah rested basically their entire core (though lots of those guys were only partially “resting” as they are also recovering from injuries). Utah is now 2-8 in their last 10, though this one shouldn’t be held against them.
Clips Wish List, 1/25
- Pistons over Nuggets: Detroit gave Denver a run for their money on Sunday and will get another shot at the upset in a rematch tonight, as the Nuggets look to continue pulling away from LAC.
- Clippers over Wizards: LAC faces a slumping Washington group in game 4 of their 8-game trip.
- Sixers over Pelicans: New Orleans lingers 3 games back of the Clippers–far enough that there’s no need to panic, but close enough that a bad week could put you in panic territory. Doc Rivers’ Sixers squad lost to the Clippers last week before beating the Spurs over the weekend; they can keep handling LA’s business with another win here.
- Celtics over Kings: Sacramento is on the cusp of falling off the wish list, as they’re 5 losses behind LAC and playing pretty poorly, but for now they still get to hang around as the Clippers face a murderer’s row–a road 5-in-7 beginning tonight followed by a bunch of really good teams to open February.
- Nets over Lakers: Brooklyn has been extremely inconsistent this year (something LAC was able to capitalize on in December), but it would be best if their good version could show up tonight to set back the Lakers, who already enter this game under .500 and enter the night a half game ahead of the Clippers.
- Rockets over Spurs: Like Sacramento, the Spurs are on the verge of falling off our radar here, but I still find myself preferring that they lose. It is a wish list, after all.
- Warriors over Mavericks: If we’re including teams that are 5.5 games back of LAC, I suppose we can root for losses by a team 4.5 games ahead of them–but realistically, I’ve given up on finishing ahead of Dallas. The two upcoming head-to-head contests in February keep the door just ajar, but if the Clippers don’t win both then the chase is over.
- Trail Blazers over Timberwolves: Portland is hot on the Clippers’ tail, just 1 loss back (though with 3 fewer wins as well), but the Clippers have already cliched the tiebreaker and are so narrowly behind Minnesota that the right combination of results (Clippers win, Lakers loss, Wolves loss) could put LAC into 7th place at the end of Tuesday night’s action.
Other 1/25 Contests
- Hornets @ Raptors: The Raptors have put themselves back in the Eastern Conference playoff race, and now have a big chance to continue their climb against 7th-place Charlotte.
NBA (and non-NBA) Musings
- A rumored John Wall – Russell Westbrook swap is hilarious at first glance, but could make some sense for both teams. Houston is saddled with the same enormous contract either way, so getting a Lakers pick for free is a no-brainer, and under salary-matching rules (which allow a team to bring back 125% of their outgoing salary), the Lakers can use the massive swap ($44M for $44M) to add more salary from a third team if they find someone they like on the trade market. The bonus 25% in the Westbrook matching is worth $11M alone, plus they could add more salary (Horton-Tucker’s $9.5M, Nunn’s $5M, and/or Jordan’s $2.6M) to increase that extra salary slot created. The issue is going to be one of assets–if their only tradeable future 1st is going to Houston, it seems unlikely that they’ll have enough sweetener to get a third team to play ball on a serious big-time acquisition.
- Last night, Dr. Shap, Robert Flom, and myself recorded the January bonus podcast for paying subscribers to 213Hoops’ Patreon. For over an hour, we went through the roster and stats of the 2019 Clippers and 2022 Clippers, comparing the talent position-by-position on the two starless Clipper rosters. It was an absolute blast, and subscriptions that provide access to the bonus eps start at $1!
Have a good Tuesday everyone!