May 11, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward
Blake Griffin(32) and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) go for the ball in the fourth quarter of game four of the second round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center. Clippers won 101-99. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Oklahoma City at Los Angeles Clippers
DATE: Monday, December 21, 2015
TIME: 9:30 p.m. CST
BROADCAST INFO: NBATV, FOX Sports – Oklahoma
LAST SEASON’S RECORD VS. OPPONENT: 1-2
Following the matchup against the Cavs, Oklahoma City faces a strange series where have three games against two Los Angeles-based teams. They host the Lakers on Dec. 19, then travel to L.A. to face the Clippers before taking on the Lakers again on Dec. 23. Odd.
But, then again, “odd” is a good way of describing the offseason for both Hollywood teams. As the Lakers tried (and failed) to boost their team through free agency, the Clippers went through one of the strangest courtships ever when they lost DeAndre Jordan to Dallas only to convince him to return to L.A.
Had Jordan moved on to Texas, the Clippers would have been considered a team on the edge of contention; solid but not good enough. Instead, they fared better than most teams this summer, retaining Jordan but also adding veterans Paul Pierce, Lance Stephenson, Josh Smith and Pablo Prigioni.
On paper, the Clips certainly look like a success. Still, there are doubts that they can pull it all together. But if they do, they’ll certainly be one of the most dangerous teams in the Western Conference.
WATCHABILITY FACTOR: 10 out of 10
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