Chris Paul Trade: 10 L.A. Clipper Games You Can't Miss This Year

Who would have guessed that a Los Angeles Clippers game would become the hottest ticket in town?

It was only a few years ago when the Clippers were still the laughingstock of the NBA and sports in general. The team never had consistent success, had only one playoff appearance in the past decade and had seen its past two second-round appearances come in 2007 and 1976.

Success was the last thing you ever thought of when talking about the Clippers, but all of that may change now that the team has Chris Paul on its squad.

By sending out Eric Gordon, Al-Farouq Aminu, Chris Kaman and a conditional first-round pick, the Clippers now possess arguably the league's top point guard as well as a superstar in the making in power forward Blake Griffin. Combining Paul and Griffin may be one of the most dangerous and volatile duos that we will ever be witness to, as Blake is already describing it as "lob city."

With the Clippers now being even more exciting to watch than last season, we now have to feature which 10 games will bear the most significance as well as which games would be the top matchup in terms of entertainment value. With the number of athletic teams that are springing up in every corner of the league, the Clippers are sure to be a part of some of the most memorable games this season.

Mark it on your calendars, because here are the 10 games to look forward to during the Clippers' 2011-12 campaign.

December 25th at Golden State

The debut of the new-look Los Angeles Clippers will be for all to see, as the game will be scheduled on opening day, December 25th, at the end of a star-studded lineup of matches.

ESPN will feature the Clippers taking on the Golden State Warriors as the nightcap to a long day of heavily contested basketball games.

The matchup pits two division rivals against each other in a battle of who has the better young squad, with the Clippers featuring only three players on their roster over the age of 30, while the Warriors happen to possess a total of zero players 30 years of age or older.

The Warriors have two players at the age of 29 and nine players either at 25 years of age or younger.

Los Angeles won't be the only team in this matchup sporting a new look, as the Warriors will also possibly be showcasing a new philosophy on their squad thanks to rookie head coach Mark Jackson, who will be looking to instill a greater emphasis on defense.

The Warriors may look towards limiting Chris Paul and Blake Griffin in their debut, but with Griffin's matchup slated to be David Lee, this could be a huge game for the power forward.

December 27th at San Antonio

The entire first week's worth of games for the Los Angeles Clippers will be worth watching as we see them take on a variety of matchups, which includes taking on the team who had the top record in the Western Conference last season in the San Antonio Spurs.

The Spurs finished 61-21 and were greatly supported by an unbelievable start where they shot out the gate to a 35-3 record. It would all be for naught, however, as they would fall in the first round to the Memphis Grizzlies.

This game against the Clippers will be a great way for the Spurs to gauge just how far apart they are from the athletic and up-and-coming teams in the league. The Grizzlies were able to abuse the Spurs down low thanks to their size, and it'll be even more interesting to see how well the team responds to facing an athletic squad like the Clippers.

For the Clippers, this will be their first true test of the season after a tune-up game in their season opener against Golden State. Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and Caron Butler will have their hands full against a Spurs team that will be attempting to right past wrongs, as this game will showcase just how ready the Clippers are when taking on elite competition.

December 30th vs. Chicago

Following up their game with the Spurs, the Los Angeles Clippers will be slated to take on the team with the Eastern Conference's and NBA's top record last year in the Chicago Bulls.

The Bulls finished 62-20 last season, secured a first seed and made it to the conference finals for the first time since 1998. Chicago hasn't seen that much success since the Michael Jordan era, and it'll be looking to build off the past year's worth of success, especially after adding Richard Hamilton to the equation and giving the team a more well-rounded starting lineup.

This will be a significant game for the Clippers in terms of how they match up with a quality team like the Bulls, but it will also bear great significance because it will be the team's home opener. The Clippers finished 14th in the league in attendance last season and may just skyrocket up into the top 10 after the addition of Chris Paul.

We'll be able to witness just how much of an influence Paul plays in the Clippers fanbase as we see just how significant the turnout is for the highly anticipated home opener, which will give the fans a first-hand look at what Paul can do with this team.

January 11th vs. Miami

Facing the Miami Heat is going to be a must-see on any team's schedule, and that includes the Los Angeles Clippers, who will have their matchup against the Heat featured on ESPN.

The Clippers played the Heat to a 1-1 draw last season with Blake Griffin showcasing a great deal of his athleticism in both games. The second game was a little more lopsided than the first, but it was still promising to see that the Clippers' athleticism allows them to keep up with a team as talented and athletic as the Heat.

With Chris Paul now on the squad, we can see just how prolific of a team they can be when given the right point guard for the job.

This could be the most entertaining game of the early season. It is set to feature a number of athletes on both rosters, including Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James, as well as what is sure to be a game that will go down to the wire thanks to the acquisition of Paul helping to lead the team down the stretch.

January 14th vs. L.A. Lakers

No love lost between these two teams, as this will be the first of four meetings between the Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers.

With the Lakers front office reportedly fuming over the fact that Chris Paul is on the Clippers and not their team, this is sure to be an extremely competitive game that might actually sport a crowd that isn't completely pro-Lakers for once.

The acquisition of Paul is going to help generate interest in the Clippers, and it should result in an increase in fanfare and attendance, even at games where they face off against the Lakers.

Both teams are out to make a statement. The Lakers are out to prove that they are still the No. 1 team in Los Angeles, while the Clippers are out to make a statement proving otherwise and that they will soon become the top team in L.A. The Clippers have been tormented for decades by the success of their biggest rivals and can now assist in the destruction of the team with a win in their first matchup.

With Kobe Bryant set to face off against Chris Paul and Pau Gasol set to face off against Blake Griffin, we should be in for one of the most competitive Laker and Clipper games that we have seen in a while.

January 18th vs. Dallas

The early portion of the 2011-12 schedule for the Los Angeles Clippers is going to be extremely difficult, to say the least.

With games against San Antonio, Chicago, Miami, the L.A. Lakers and now the Dallas Mavericks, the Clippers will be extremely thankful and grateful that the difficulty of the schedule wears down after January.

Before they get out of January, they'll have a matchup with the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks for the first time since the acquisition of CP3. The Mavericks added Lamar Odom and Vince Carter but will suffer due to the loss of Tyson Chandler, J.J. Barea and Caron Butler.

Speaking of Butler, this will also be the first time that he takes on his former team. Butler only managed to play 29 games in his short time with the Mavericks due to an injury he suffered in early January that would force him to sit out the rest of the regular season and the entire postseason.

However, Butler won't be the biggest story at all, as most viewers will be looking to see how the Clippers stack up against an NBA champion in their first meeting.

January 30th vs. Oklahoma City

With the Oklahoma City Thunder projected to be the Western Conference champions this year, the Los Angeles Clippers will get their first taste of the Thunder to finish off an extremely difficult month.

This will be the last chance for the Clippers to prove what quality of a team they are against stacked competition, as the next few months are set to be filled with games against the steppingstones of the league.

The Thunder are coming an impressive 2010-11 campaign where they won the Northwest Division for the first time since moving to Oklahoma City, while also managing to make it to their first conference finals since 1996. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook helped lead the way but would falter down the stretch in a series of games against the Dallas Mavericks before their eventual demise.

A former up-and-comer now turned elite will now be taking on a Clippers team with more potential than any squad in the NBA in a game that will feature several key matchups. Those matchups include defensive specialist Serge Ibaka taking on Blake Griffin, Caron Butler set to defend Kevin Durant and Chris Paul slated to defend Russell Westbrook.

In what could be one of the most entertaining games of the year, we should be ready for the onslaught of slams and alley-oops that will be thrown up in this game.

February 15th vs. Washington

What? You're telling me that you're not excited to see a midseason matchup between the Los Angeles Clippers and Washington Wizards?

Maybe two years ago this would have been a forgettable game, but it now features two of the league's most exciting and athletic teams facing off against each other.

The Clippers feature premier athletes in Griffin and Jordan, but they might pale in comparison to the likes of JaVale McGee, rookie Jan Vesely and Jordan Crawford.

Possibly the best matchup we'll see is just which sophomore will outperform the other, as we get to see Rookie of the Year winner Blake Griffin take on runner-up point guard John Wall. Griffin's athleticism and Wall's speed will make this one of the more exciting games during the midseason lull.

Griffin won't be matched up with Wall at any time, but we will see CP3 taking on Paul as we see one of the league's fastest players matched up with one of the league's top perimeter defenders.

March 22nd at New Orleans

The first meeting of the year between the Los Angeles Clippers and New Orleans Hornets won't be until March, when we see Chris Paul make his triumphant return to the team that drafted him only a few years prior.

CP3 and the Hornets had an upsetting end to their relationship with Paul constantly being at the center of trade rumors and reportedly demanding trades. It's tough to blame Paul for wanting to leave New Orleans, as the team failed to make any sort of significant improvement since he led it to a division title and 56 wins in 2008.

I doubt that Chris Paul will receive as harsh a reception as the Cleveland Cavaliers gave to LeBron James upon his initial return, but he should expect a fair share of jeers and cheers from a fanbase that had grown to love the best player their franchise had seen since Glen Rice.

The Clippers will also get their first look at former teammates Eric Gordon, Al-Farouq Aminu and Chris Kaman in Hornets uniforms.

The matchup shouldn't be close and should end in the Clippers' favor, but it's going to be an interesting sight to see how the Hornets fanbase reacts to the return of CP3.

April 4th vs. L.A. Lakers

Possibly the most significant game of the year for both sides, the final game between the Clippers and Lakers will be able to feature just how well these teams' seasons panned out as well as which direction they're going in.

The Clippers have the brighter future ahead of them with players like Griffin, Jordan and Paul leading the way, and they might just be able to compete from here on out with the trio of Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and the rest of this Laker team.

Not only will it feature the final meeting of the year between the two squads, but it will also be interesting to see what type of crowd shows up. If the Clippers exceed expectations and the Lakers don't perform as well as many are hoping, it's extremely possible that the crowd could be pro-Clippers for the first time in the history of the matchup.

Both teams are going to come a long way in a matchup that possibly has playoff repercussions since they will most likely be vying for the top spot of the Pacific Division for a top-three seed.

This final game may be a precursor to how each team will fare in the future from there on out as we witness the bright future of the Clippers and the decline of the Lakers.