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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 20: L.A. Clippers Forward Kawhi Leonard celebrates donation of One Million backpacks from Baby2Baby, Kawhi Leonard and the L.A. Clippers to students across Los Angeles at 107th Street Elementary on August 20, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Baby2Baby)
via Getty
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 20: L.A. Clippers Forward Kawhi Leonard celebrates donation of One Million backpacks from Baby2Baby, Kawhi Leonard and the L.A. Clippers to students across Los Angeles at 107th Street Elementary on August 20, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Baby2Baby)
The Los Angeles Clippers are on the hunt for redemption this season after a bizarre 2020 postseason run. The Clippers choked a 3-1 lead that led to them being heavily criticized by the media and fans.
However, that’s all in the past, and the team will be entering the 2020-21 NBA season with a clean slate. And what better way to test out their new roster than the NBA pre-season? The Clippers will play a total of three games from December 11 to 19.
Full NBA Preseason schedule: pic.twitter.com/QIpc6lWdO9
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 27, 2020
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Speaking of their schedule, the Clippers will lock horns with the Lakers on two separate occasions. While the fans couldn’t enjoy the battle of L.A. in the playoffs, kicking off pre-season with this matchup will be a great sight to see. Moreover, this will be a perfect chance to gel the team together before the actual season begins. The biggest change the team has gone through this season is replacing Montrezl Harrell with Serge Ibaka.
Harrell won the NBA’s sixth man of the year award last season as well, but one can argue he was quite under-sized for playing center. The issue could be solved with the addition of Serge Ibaka’s towering presence.
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Expectations from the Los Angeles Clippers in NBA Pre-Season and the 2020-21 NBA season
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LOS ANGELES, CA – JULY 24: New Clippers player Paul George speaks at a press conference at the Green Meadows Recreation Center in Los Angeles on Wednesday, July 24, 2019. George and Leonard were introduced to the media and fans as the newest members of the Clippers. (Photo by Scott Varley/MediaNews Group/Daily Breeze via Getty Images)
In a nutshell, fans expect the team to win it all this season. But taking last season into account, the team had quite obvious chemistry issues. Those issues were completely exposed by the Nuggets in the Western Semi-Finals.
Most teams tend to rest their superstar players during the NBA pre-season to keep them ready for the actual season. But the Clippers in particular might use this time to improve the chemistry in their roster. Additionally, they will be entering with a new head coach in Tyronn Lue, who won an NBA Championship back in 2016 with the Cavs. If he can bring out the best of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, the team has the potential to become the Western Conference champions.
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As far as the pre-season goes, the first two games should be quite close. But in the final game against the Utah Jazz, the Clippers are the definite favorites to win.
What are your thoughts on the pre-season schedule of the LA Clippers? Do you think they have a better team this season?
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