Los Angeles Clippers get eight home fixtures to start next season – NBA Feature Part 3
The NBA’ s schedule for the coming season has been very kind to the Los Angeles Clippers as it sees them play eight of their first nine games at the Staples Center to start of proceedings.
In the fifth matchup of the season, the Clippers go head to head with the powerhouse San Antonio Spurs – a team that swept past them in four games in the second round of the playoffs last season.
It would be an interesting matchup as the Spurs have gone about their business very quietly during the summer and their only recent appearance in the media was off Tony Parker’s eye injury in a night club in New York.
The Texas based team that they haven’t made any significant changes to their line up this summer besides resigning Boris Diaw and a three year agreement with Tim Duncan. But there is no doubt that the group of players present at the disposal of one of the best masterminds in the game, Gregg Popovich, is a formidable one. The Big Three of Tim Duncan, Parker and Manu Ginobili have been a consistent over the years and then there is the bench.
Last season, San Antonio had the best bench in the NBA and in the coming season with the present bunch remaining intact; it is expected to stay the same.
During the second round last season, the likes of Chris Paul; Blake Griffin had an excuse of having played an extremely gruesome and physical series with the Memphis Grizzlies. But come this season, they would not have anything to blame, as their schedule gives them a chance to start the campaign with a strong run and win over the mighty Spurs.
In their first away fixture of next season, Clippers travel to the Rose Garden to face off against the Portland Trail Blazers. That will be an interesting prospect given that the Trail Blazers will have LaMarcus Aldridge back from injury and he will have Nicolas Batum and a couple of exciting high picks alongside him. The balance however still tilts in the favour of the Clips.
On November 11th, the Clippers return to their familiar scenery of Hollywood to play host to the Atlanta Hawks.
Atlanta have been a team going about their business very actively in the summer and the hiring of new general manager, Danny Ferry, has brought about many a change to their roster.
They got rid of Joe Johnson and his expensive contract to start with and have been trying to form a new core by re-vitalising the roster.
An interesting matchup this fixture would bring forward would be the meeting between Willie Green and the Hawks, who traded him to the Clippers in the off-season. The player will look to put a strong performance against his ex-team.
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