Los Angeles Clippers: Can The Clips Catch The Warriors?
The Golden State Warriors have raced out of the gate, while the Los Angeles Clippers stumbled. However, over time the reigning division champions have regained their footing and are right on the heels of their northern neighbors.
The Clippers have the history, and with both rosters essentially the same as last year, its easy to think that come April, Los Angeles will be hosting their first playoff game.
Steve Kerr would beg to differ. He is the first year head coach of the rival Warriors, and under his tutelage, his team has seemingly made the leap from playoff team to true contender. Still, is this just an early season mirage that the Clippers need not worry about, or will this be photo finish for the Pacific Division crown?
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Looking at the recent schedule the Warriors have faced, it is easy to see how they have run off a string of victories. In their last 11 games, Golden State has faced exactly zero teams with a winning record, and has bested the likes of the Lakers, Magic (twice), Hornets, Pistons, Jazz, and Thunder (without Westbrook or Durant).
That is not exactly a daunting schedule. In fact, the Warriors have faced only five teams all season who currently(as of December 5th) have a winning record, going a pedestrian 3-2 in those games.
The Clippers meanwhile, have faced seven teams with winning records, going 3-4. The schedule lightens up considerably for Los Angeles, as seven of their next nine games come against .500 or worse teams, with only Phoenix and Washington giving Lob City a true test.
Golden State has an entirely different set of games coming up, as Chicago, Houston, Dallas, and Memphis all play the Warriors in the next ten days. By Christmas time, there could be an entirely different hierarchy in the Pacific Division.
The Warriors are 23rd in the league in strength of schedule so far, which contributes mightily to their top spot in defensive rating, and logic would dictate they cannot keep up that kind of pace.
Steve Kerr might be a good coach, and he has certainly shown so far that he was a worthy candidate, but it is hard to evaluate the job he has done so far given the soft schedule. His team has weathered the injury to David Lee, but Lee was not the focal point of the team and is a borderline all-star at best.
Kerr is also a rookie coach, and it will be interesting to see how he handles the inevitable adversity that bubbles up during the inconceivably long NBA regular season. The top tier defense his squad sports currently will suffer due to a tough match-ups or injuries to a notoriously brittle front line.
All the while the Clippers will be humming along, a veteran team led by a championship winning head coach. You can bet that when the going gets tough for the Warriors, that Los Angeles will be more than happy to take advantage. After all, it was the Clippers who ended Golden State’s season one year ago.
Next: The Greatest Clipper Of All? Spoiler Alert--It's Not Eric Piatkowski