The Los Angeles Clippers Cinderella season rolls on after an overtime win over the Golden State Warriors clinched the 5th-seed. They will have a first-round matchup with the 4-seed Denver Nuggets.
The Los Angeles Lakers, Nuggets, and Clippers all finished with a record of 50-32, but due to tiebreakers, the Clippers sit in the 5th spot. They have won eight straight and are arguably the hottest team entering the playoffs.
Los Angeles Clippers Open Playoffs Against New Look Denver Nuggets
The matchup against the Nuggets will be a very interesting one, and there will be plenty of storylines. Most notably, the return of Russell Westbrook.
The Los Angeles Clippers let Westbrook go after last season, and he signed a deal with Denver. As a role player with the Nuggets, Westbrook averaged 13.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg, and 6.1 apg.
The other huge storyline is the fact that the Nuggets shockingly fired head coach Michael Malone and GM Calvin Booth just last week. David Adelman will step in as the interim head coach.
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The Clippers’ season has been a remarkable one. After letting both Westbrook and Paul George walk, they began the season without Kawhi Leonard for nearly half the year due to injury rehab. Yet, they competed and played lights-out defense.
Tyronn Lue should win Coach of the Year for the job that he has done, and James Harden won’t win the award, but he is certainly the Clippers MVP for how he kept the team afloat throughout the season.
Official game times have not yet been announced, as we will have to wait for the play-in games to finalize, but the series will kick off sometime next week.