As mentioned in my week 17 power rankings the Clippers are in a bit of a conundrum. Making the playoffs sends their pick to Boston but they indicated this past week there is no intention of easing up. With newcomer Landry Shamet lighting up the perimeter and fellow rookie Shae Gilgeous-Alexander showcasing steady growth making the playoffs may be a wise choice.
It conveys the pick (gets it out of the way) while also gaining experience for their young core. This becomes important as LA look to appeal to free agents. Given LA management are present at most Raptors games to show their commitment (as per ESPN writer Brian Windhorst) to landing Kawhi Leonard, gunning for the postseason makes sense.
"Raptors officials have noticed a Clippers employee at roughly 75 percent of the team’s games thus far this season. Clippers officials say they’ve been at less than 50 percent of Leonard’s games. There have been games they attended where Leonard rested. That has included president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank, which is rare."
Schedule particulars:
Tankathon rank for schedule strength of remaining games: 23rd
Games Remaining: 23 | Home: 13 | Road: 10
- Versus top 10 offenses: five
- Versus top 10 defenses: seven
- Games facing teams over .500: 11
- Last 10 games: 5-5
- Back to back sets: three
Key Stats:
Offensive Rating: 13th (110.4)
Defensive Rating: 19th (110.1 )
Net Differential: 14th ( +0.4)
Record: 8th in WC
Home: 16-12 | Road: 17-16 | Back to back sets: 10
Versus the West: 21-19 | Versus the East: 12-9
Week 19, 1-1: Win @Grizzlies, lost @Nuggets
On tap for week 20: vs. Mavericks, @Jazz, @Kings, Knicks