OKC Thunder: Ranking difficulty of seeding schedules for all 22 teams

17th) Clippers – Cumulative opponent win total: 285

Seeding Game Record: 5-3, locked into the second seed, will play Mavericks in the first round

1. Lakers 103 – Clippers 101(July 30)
2. Clippers 126 – Pelicans  103 (August 1)
3. Suns 117 – Clippers 115 (August 4)
4. Clippers 126 – Mavericks 111 (August 6)
5. Clippers 122 – Blazers 117 (August 8)
6. Nets 129 – Clippers 120 (August 9)
7. Clippers 124 – Nuggets 111  August 12)
8. Clippers 107 – OKC Thunder 103 in OT (August 14)

The Clippers threw away an opportunity in their first match last night against the Lakers. That resulted in the Nuggets pulling within a game of second now. While many of the top seeds will be careful about their star’s minutes the Clippers will play the Nuggets in Game 7 and that could determine who gets the second and third seed in the West.

And while it won’t be surprising for the Bucks and Lakers to rest stars or limit their minutes down the stretch I’m not so sure the Clippers should follow that pattern. Of all the elite teams the Clippers haven’t developed chemistry with their core let alone all the new players they added (Marcus Morris, Reggie Jackson, Joakim Noah). That trio joined the team at the deadline or later based on the picking up Jackson on waivers and inking Noah late.

While the Clippers schedule isn’t necessarily difficult the lower seeds all have objectives. The Nets may not be motivated, but the Suns want to send a message and the Blazers want that play-in seed.

For the OKC Thunder facing the Clippers in the last game could prove beneficial because LA could have cemented their seed by that point. So, if the Thunder needs to win in order to grab the fourth or third seed a Clippers squad who might be resting players could be a factor in capturing the victory.