LA Clippers On the Ropes with a Month Remaining in Season

The LA Clippers struggled as they came back from the All-Star break. As the season comes to an exciting finish, work still needs to be done. It wasn’t a smooth transition following the All-Star break, but the Clippers are beginning to look better as March goes on with 15 games remaining on their schedule. Los Angeles has had its inconsistencies throughout the season. There have been periods in the season where the Clippers look lost and suffer defeats that shouldn’t have happened. Losses to key opponents in the West, such as the Phoenix Suns and twice to crosstown rival Los Angeles Lakers, have put a damper on the team. 

LA Clippers On the Ropes with a Month Remaining in Season

Since the All-Star break, the Clippers have a 6-7 record, which now brings the Clippers’ position to eighth in the West. They now are in a Play-In Tournament position, where they would go on the road to face the seventh-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves. Los Angeles lost to Minnesota in 2022 in the Play-In Tournament. The Clippers cannot afford to lose any ground as the playoffs are on the horizon. The separation from the eight and nine seed is 3.5 games, where the Sacramento Kings currently stand behind LA. 

How things currently stand in the Western Conference, the Clippers are 1.5 games behind the Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors. The Clippers fell back to the eighth spot after a long period of occupying a top-six spot in the West. After struggling to gain their momentum back and the Lakers getting hot, the Clippers have fallen a few spots. If the playoffs were to begin today, and they stay in the eighth seed after the Play-In Tournament, their first matchup would be against former Clipper Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder, arguably the best team in the league. Over the past week, however, things have been looking good in terms of form for coach Tyronn Lue’s Clippers squad.