Did the Los Angeles Clippers lose on purpose to avoid the Lakers?

Posted on by Jim Smarts

As the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors will be playing in the play-in tournament for the 7th seed in the western conference playoffs, many wondered if the Los Angeles Clippers tampered with a game to avoid facing the Lakers in a 7 game series in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

Let me explain. The Clippers were the 3rd seed in the western conference with a game ahead of the Denver Nuggets. And if they had lost their upcoming game to the Rockets, one of the teams with the worst record, they would’ve landed down to the 4th seed. And that is exactly what happened.

The Clippers chose to rest Paul George and Kawhi Leonard against the Rockets. Pat Beverley and Reggie Jackson did not play either. The team succumbed to the Rockets, losing the game 122-115. At the same time, Denver beat Detroit to tie the Clippers for the 3rd spot. And since the Nuggets hold the tiebreaker advantage, it puts LAC into the 4th spot.

And now the Clippers control their fate as being in the 4th spot would avoid the Lakers in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Now some say that this move was made on purpose and I would think that as well. Even though the Lakers may be dealing with injuries, teams still don’t want to face them and definitely not in the playoffs. 

The Lakers have struggled a bit this season due to nagging injuries to LeBron, Davis, and Schroeder. The gamble on Marc Gasol to fill in the space Dwight Howard and Javale McGee left backfired, and Kyle Kuzma has not been up to the mark all season.

But if it weren’t for injuries, a full lineup of James, Davis, Schroeder, Kuzma, and Harrell is as deadly as they come. And by now, everyone knows about playoff LeBron and what he is capable of. LeBron kicks it into his last gear and unleashes hell on his opponents since he has entered the league but now saves his explosiveness for when it matters the most, the playoffs.

So, to think of it, I believe it was a smart move by the Los Angeles Clippers to jump down to the 4th seed to avoid the Lakers if it was done intentionally. Because we have all seen what happened to the Clippers last season and in last season’s playoffs as well. Paul George, recently known as ‘Playoff P,’ was horrible in the last year’s NBA playoffs with all the load coming onto Kawhi Leonard and the supporting cast. 

Whereas when you look at the Los Angeles Lakers, they have more scoring options than just James or Davis. Schroeder can pour it in on any given night, and a rising star amidst the Lakers is Talen Horton- Tucker, who is proving his worth in the league and on the decorated Lakers team.

It isn’t sure whether the Los Angeles Clippers deliberately lost the game to the Houston Rockets to avoid facing the Los Angeles Lakers in the western conference NBA playoffs. Still, it was a smart move nonetheless because no team would want to face the wrath of a full Laker squad.