5 Games of James Harden in LA, and Clippers are “Mathematically” Out of In-season Tournament

In one of Tuesday’s 10 In-Season Tournament showdowns, the Denver Nuggets faced the Los Angeles Clippers at the Ball Arena. The Nuggets came short-handed, while the visitors were clipped to an 8-man roster. James Harden and his co-stars being four of those players. Despite the apparent on-paper lack of depth and variety, the Clippers gave the Nuggets a tough challenge. Nevertheless, the home team managed to control the fireworks, courtesy of Nikola Jokic‘s impressive 32-point, 16-rebound double-double and a last-moment wedgie by Paul George.

Despite Ty Lue’s experimental lineup yielding improved results, the Clippers are now 0-6 for the month; and post-Harden arrival. Furthermore, their overall record now stands at 3-7, placing them in the 12th spot in their conference.

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Despite enduring several blowout losses, the game against the Denver Nuggets proved to be a close one for the Clippers. They gave one of their best performances post the James Harden trade against the former champions. That is commendable. With improved execution towards the end, there was a possibility of victory. However, the outcome mirrored the team’s prevailing struggles and the Clippers lost 108-111.

Delving into the numbers, it seems the Clippers have just concluded their journey in the in-season tournament. The prospects don’t look promising?they appear unlikely to advance past the group stage.

The Clippers find themselves at the bottom of the standings in their In-Season Tournament campaign, sporting a 0-2 record. Up next, they face the Houston Rockets and the New Orleans Pelicans, both coming off monumental victories.

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Meanwhile, Denver sits comfortably atop the group, having secured two wins already. Considering their recent form, it appears highly improbable that they will drop their next two group matches, positioning them as the clear favorites to emerge victorious in the tournament. Moreover, should the Nuggets stumble in one of their upcoming two matchups, they would still boast a 3-1 record; diminishing the Clippers’ chances.

Can the Clippers advance through the wildcard?

If the Clippers drop one more game in the tournament, they are undoubtedly out of contention. Even if the Nuggets fall and the Clippers somehow secure victories in both of their upcoming games, it would only land them in the third spot in their group. The second spot is likely to be claimed by either the Dallas Mavericks or the Houston Rockets.

Assessing their chances of advancing through a wildcard entry gives distant possibilities. As per the NBA, besides the group winners, two teams from each conference will move on to the next round?based on their performance. Currently, the Clippers have the third-worst point differential in the Western Conference at -21. To have a shot at redeeming the wildcard, the Clippers not only need consecutive victories but also must do so convincingly. This means overcoming their 21-point deficit and outperforming the teams with the best point ratio in the Western Conference.

Determining the exact lead the Clippers will need to qualify remains uncertain due to the intricacies of the sport. However, they must certainly win each game by at least 11 points to turn their point differential to a +1. Unfortunately, this may not suffice, as several teams already boast higher differentials. This may push the threshold for Clippers to potentially more than 20 or 25 points per game.

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In summary, while there’s still very bleak hope for the Clippers in the tournament, amazing things always happen in the NBA. However, their track record thus far suggests it might be more prudent for the franchise to focus on the larger blueprint, unraveling in the season next year.