Los Angeles Clippers' Schedule Breakdown and Record Predictions for February
February should be a fun time for the Los Angeles Clippers.
We've got Valentine's Day, All-Star fun and pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training, and the Clippers are going to miss out on most of it, worrying about how they can possibly stay afloat in the Western Conference in the midst of a seemingly impossible schedule.
The Clips do, however, only have 11 games slated for February, and coming off of a busy January during which the team went 11-4, they could use the rest.
There's been so much negativity surrounding the Clips this year, whether it's from the Austin Rivers trade or the lack of a wing stopper or the fall-off on the defensive end or Blake Griffin's mid-range dependence or anything else not mentioned. But somehow, after all of that, L.A. is still 33-15 and owns the No. 3 seed in the superior Western Conference.
Maybe we're exaggerating the Clippers' flaws. Or maybe we're not and this is just a squad bound for regular-season dominance and a first-round exit. The next month—whether from wins, losses, trades or signings—can help give us a better idea of exactly where this Clippers team belongs.
Week of Feb. 2: So Much Road
1 of 5
Home: N/A
Away: Brooklyn Nets (Feb. 2), Cleveland Cavaliers (Feb. 5), Toronto Raptors (Feb. 6), Oklahoma City Thunder (Feb. 8)
Predicted Record: 1-3
Eight road games in a row is never easy. So far, the Clippers have started off their Grammy road trip respectably, defeating the Utah Jazz, then dropping a winnable game in New Orleans, but bouncing back with a blowout over the San Antonio Spurs.
The Clips start off February with five more road games. The first of those should've been the most winnable.
Doc Rivers' squad destroyed the Nets near the end of January at its place, rocking Brooklyn by 39 points and turning the Staples Center into its own personal trampoline in the process. But still, the Clips blew an eight-point lead with 70 seconds left all thanks to a Joe Johnson confidence three, an Alan Anderson four-point play and a Jarrett Jack game-winning shot with 1.3 seconds remaining.
Things are hard for the Clippers after that, too. Trips to Cleveland, Toronto and Oklahoma City are geographically chaotic and athletically challenging.
The Cavs have won 10 in a row and have looked like title contenders ever since acquiring the trio of Timofey Mozgov, J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert and since LeBron James has returned to full health. Actually, one of those 10 victories came against the Clips at Staples. The Clippers are good enough that they can win any game, but they won't be favored in this one, especially if Cleveland still has that streak going.
The Raps on the second night of a back-to-back is no easy task, either. Toronto was sliding just a couple of weeks ago but has now won six in a row with a resuscitated DeMar DeRozan.
The OKC game, though—that one could be a win. Somehow, the Thunder are still a game under .500 with Kevin Durant still not looking like 2014 KD. They'll probably turn things around any second now, but it's possible it takes until after the Clippers matinee Sunday, even if these two teams tend to get up for each other especially.
Week of Feb. 9: Everything's Bigger in Texas
2 of 5
Home: Houston Rockets (Feb. 11)
Away: Dallas Mavericks (Feb. 9)
Predicted Record: 2-0
The Mavericks and Rockets are both really good. We're talking about the West's elite. There's no doubting that. So, don't think there's any disrespect in this following statement:
The Clippers are going to win both of these games.
There's some weird schnitzel that goes on when the Clippers play Dallas and Houston. The Clips just play well against those two teams (along with the Portland Trail Blazers).
L.A. already blew out Dallas once in the Rajon Rondo era, putting up 120 on them back in early January. Now, Dallas' roster is reeling just a bit.
The Mavs are only 13-9 since making that deal for Rondo in December, and the former Boston Celtic finds himself out for at least three games (maybe more) after sustaining a facial injury against the Orlando Magic over the weekend.
Houston, meanwhile, always seems to struggle against the Clips, who have already beaten the Rockets once this year and swept them in four games a season ago.
James Harden has a habit of struggling with J.J. Redick, and with Dwight Howard still presumably out, the Clippers can even out Houston's star power and more.
Week of Feb. 16: All-Star Recovery
3 of 5
Home: San Antonio Spurs (Feb. 19), Sacramento Kings (Feb. 21)
Away: N/A
Predicted Record: 1-1
Eight days off will be well deserved after the Clippers close out an eight-game road trip.
L.A. doesn't play again after that Houston game (the first home match after the Grammy road trip) until it faces off against the Spurs on TNT Thursday night. In the meantime, though, not all Clippers will be resting.
The All-Star break runs from Feb. 13-15, and even though the hiatus is extended this year, three Clippers will be heading to New York for the festivities: Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and J.J. Redick. But even if those guys aren't getting a full week of relaxation, most Clippers can have fun in Aruba or Cabo or...wait, why are you trying to leave L.A.? It's L.A. You can go on vacation when you have to deal with snowstorms in New York or Boston or Minnesota.
The San Antonio game will be a revenge game for the Spurs after the Clippers just demolished them at their place. Doesn't it feel like San Antonio is bound to come out with a little extra pizazz in front of a perennially sedated Clipper crowd?
The Clips can recover quickly if they drop that one, though, going against the Kings a couple of days later.
Ty Corbin has an outside shot at becoming the first coach in NBA history to own the 30th-ranked defense in back-to-back seasons with two different teams. The Kings look worse than The Interview's profits in the North Korea market.
Week of Feb. 23: Playoff Week
4 of 5
Home: Memphis Grizzlies (Feb. 23)
Away: Houston Rockets (Feb. 25), Memphis Grizzlies (Feb. 27)
Predicted Record: 2-1
This is obviously the week where we get the Clippers' playoff preview, right?
I say this every year. Actually, scratch that. Everyone says this every year: The Clippers are bound to play the Grizzlies in the playoffs.
This isn't my choice or your choice or the Clippers' choice or the Grizzlies'. It's fate. It's the basketball gods directing exactly how they want the NBA to go, and they want Grizzlies-Clippers.
Actually, it's a fluke any time we haven't gotten Grizzlies-Clippers in the postseason. It's just meant to be, like Mentos and Coke. They're the Montagues and Capulets of the NBA, except Blake Griffin and Zach Randolph have significantly lower odds of running off with the help of a friar than the two star-crossed lovers did.
Naturally, it makes sense the Clips and Griz would split the home games during the final week of February.
This Houston game doesn't promote much different logic from the previous one. Sure, it's on the road, but with Dwight Howard presumably still out and with the Clippers' history against the Rockets, there's no reason to pick the home team in that one.
Final Thoughts
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February brings its fair share of obstacles for the Clippers.
With nine of 11 games coming against teams over .500, the Clippers can't afford to struggle for long stretches. Plus, seven of those contests are on the road.
The Grammy road trip hurts L.A. every year.
The NHL's Kings don't go on as long of a road trip during the Grammys. Neither do the Lakers. But the Clips are shipped out of town for eight games, clumping together the season's second road trip of at least seven games.
The Clippers' predicted record (which is obviously as scientific as possible) comes out to 7-4 in February. They get a decent amount of rest because of the All-Star break, but travel and a rough schedule likely won't allow them to dominate the shortest month of the year.
Still, 7-4 would be impressive enough to keep the Clippers in the race for a top-three or -four seed in the West, which is all they can ask for heading into March and April.
Fred Katz averaged almost one point per game in fifth grade but maintains that his per-36-minute numbers were astonishing. Find more of his work on ESPN's TrueHoop Network at ClipperBlog.com. Follow him on Twitter at @FredKatz.
Unless otherwise noted, all statistics are current as of Feb. 2 and are courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
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