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Schedule breakdown: Clippers, Sixers face toughest roads over final … – NBA.com
Breaking down the hardest and easiest schedules across the league after the All-Star break.
John Schuhmann
Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers have the toughest upcoming schedule in the West.
The LA Clippers have not been particularly good against good teams. As we come out of the All-Star break, there are 15 teams with winning records, and the Clippers have the worst record (9-19) in games played between those 15 teams. And that includes a 6-7 mark with both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard in the lineup.
The Clippers did make some additions at the trade deadline, and they’ve been a much better team over the last month, winning 10 of their last 14 games. That stretch includes road wins in Dallas, New York, Brooklyn and Phoenix, as well as a one-point loss in Milwaukee.
But the 33-28 Clips, now in fourth place and within striking distance of the third-place Sacramento Kings (32-25), will continue to be tested after the All-Star break. They have the Western Conference’s toughest remaining schedule in regard to cumulative opponent winning percentage (.523). Only 11 of their 21 remaining games are against the other 14 teams currently over .500, but they also have two games each against the Golden State Warriors (29-29) and the Oklahoma City Thunder (28-29), who are 17-11 (second best in the West) since mid-December. And LA is the only team that doesn’t have any games remaining against the bottom four teams in the league (Charlotte, Detroit, Houston and San Antonio).
They have been improving offensively, but have been more successful on the other end of the floor. Their 10th-ranked defense won’t have many easy nights going forward, with just two games (fewest in the league) remaining against teams (Orlando and Chicago) that currently rank in the bottom 10 offensively. And their post-break schedule begins with games against the top two offenses in the league (those of the Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets).
LA does have the Western Conference’s most home-heavy remaining schedule, with 13 of their 21 games at home. The Clippers are the only Western Conference team that doesn’t have any more road games against the East.
Their post-break schedule begins with a big home game against the third-place Kings on Friday. And starting March 5, the Clips will have a stretch where they’re playing nine of 10 at home. Five of their seven remaining games within the top six in the West (including their game in Denver on Sunday) are on the road, but the Clippers are one of two teams – the Knicks are the other – with a better road record (18-15) than home record (15-13), so it’s not clear that location matters.
The Clippers are one of six Western Conference teams that are at least two games over .500. And the fifth- and sixth-place teams – the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks – are the ones that made major additions at the trade deadline. The Nuggets remain head and shoulders above the rest of the group, but with 19 games still left to play within the top six in the West, things could get interesting over the last seven weeks of the season.
Games played between top six teams in the West
Here are some notes on the other teams in the West’s top six …
* Rest advantage = Didn’t play the day before. Opponent is playing the second game of a back-to-back.
Rest disadvantage = Playing the second game of a back-to-back. Opponent didn’t play the day before.
Through the break, teams are 119-90 (.569) in rest-advantage games, 84-45 (.651) at home and 35-45 (.438) on the road.
Here’s a full breakdown of the remaining schedules for all 15 Western Conference teams:
Western Conference breakdown, post-break schedules
H | R = Home and road
B2B = Back-to-backs
RA, RDA = Rest-advantage, Rest-disadvantage games
OppPCT = Cumulative opponent winning percentage
.500+ = Games vs. the 15 teams currently over .500
OppO = Games against teams currently in the top 10 and bottom 10 in offensive efficiency
OppD = Games against teams currently in the top 10 and bottom 10 in defensive efficiency
RED = Toughest; BLUE = Easiest
The New Orleans Pelicans are just a half-game behind the sixth-place Mavs, but are just 7-16 (only the Spurs and Rockets have been worse in the West) since Jan. 1. The Minnesota Timberwolves are also just a half-game behind the Mavs, have been much better (15-9) in 2023, and should be getting Karl-Anthony Towns back soon. So don’t count them out in the race for one of the guaranteed playoff spots in the West. But to simplify things, we’re keeping them in a group of seven teams seemingly fighting for the four Play-In spots.
Games played between teams 7-13 in the West
Sixers will be tested
Joel Embiid and the Sixers will face opponents with a cumulative winning percentage of .540 over the final 6 weeks.
The one team with a tougher remaining schedule than the Clippers in regard to cumulative opponent winning percentage is the Philadelphia 76ers. And the Sixers’ post-break schedule is as busy as it is difficult. They’re one of four teams in the league with 25 games left to play over the final 46 days of the season, and they’re one of six teams with at least one stretch of five games in seven days. Theirs is a five-game trip from March 1-7 that begins with games in Miami, Dallas and Milwaukee.
The Sixers have been one of the league’s best road teams (15-11), but their 15 post-break road games are two more than any other team has left to play. Their sixth-ranked offense also has the league’s toughest remaining schedule in regard to opposing defenses, with 12 of their 25 games against teams that currently rank in the top 10 defensively. That includes their first four games out of the All-Star break, when they’ll face the Grizzlies (third defensively), Celtics (fourth) and Heat (fifth), with their second game against the Heat being the start of the aforementioned five-game trip.
The Sixers’ game against Boston on Saturday is the first of five remaining within the top four in the East. Both of their games against the Celtics are at home, but their three against the Bucks (x 2) and Cavs are on the road.
Games played between top four teams in the East
The other teams in the East’s top four have easier schedules than the Sixers, but the Celtics and Bucks have their own challenges ahead …
Here’s a full breakdown of the remaining schedules for all 15 Eastern Conference teams:
Eastern Conference breakdown, post-break schedules
H | R = Home and road
B2B = Back-to-backs
RA, RDA = Rest-advantage, Rest-disadvantage games
OppPCT = Cumulative opponent winning percentage
.500+ = Games vs. the 15 teams currently over .500
OppO = Games against teams currently in the top 10 and bottom 10 in offensive efficiency
OppD = Games against teams currently in the top 10 and bottom 10 in defensive efficiency
RED = Toughest; BLUE = Easiest
At 34-24, the fifth-place Brooklyn Nets are closer (in the loss column) to fourth place than they are to sixth. But their record was mostly built with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving on the roster. And going forward, the Nets appear to be in a fight with the New York Knicks (33-27) and Miami Heat (32-27) for the final two guaranteed playoff spots in the East. Amazingly, all three of those teams have the same strength of remaining schedule in regard to cumulative opponent winning percentage (.512). New York has the toughest when it comes to the percentage of its games (13/22) that are against teams currently over .500, while Miami is the toughest when you take rest into account.
Games played between teams 5-7 in the East
Beyond the top seven, we appear to have six teams with a chance at the final three Play-In spots in the East. The 13th-place Orlando Magic are currently four games in the loss column out of Play-In position, but they’re 19-15 (eighth best in the East and at least two games better than any of these other five teams) since early December.
Games played between teams 8-13 in the East
* * *
John Schuhmann is a senior stats analyst for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.
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