These 2 Games Will Determine Clippers' Fate This Season

The Los Angeles Clippers have found their stride again at the perfect time. Following a four-game skid that included losses to the Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, and back-to-back losses to the New Orleans Pelicans, the Clippers have won three straight. Kawhi Leonard and Bennedict Mathurin are both back healthy, and it's clearly making a massive difference.

The most recent win of this streak came against the No. 5 team out East, the Toronto Raptors, and while that group has had its ups and downs this season, it's still a big win against a playoff team. This game against the Raptors was one of the Clippers' final tests of this regular season, as LA has one of the 10 easiest remaining schedules according to Tankathon. But before LA is officially in the clear, they are scheduled for two games against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Portland has been in the play-in tournament range all season long, right on the coattails of this Clippers team, sitting one spot behind them as the ninth seed out West. These two matchups could help LA lock up the No. 8 seed and ensure they'll have two chances to advance from the play-in to the first round of the playoffs.

The first of these games is set for March 31st in LA, and the second is the Clippers' second-to-last game of the season on April 10th in Portland.

Clippers Are About to Embark on a Season-Defining Matchup

The Clippers still have one game against the Oklahoma City Thunder and one game against the Spurs in their final nine games. Although those matchups are against better teams and could give fans a preview of what round one could look like, the focus has to be on getting a favorable spot in the play-in before focusing on round one of the playoffs. This is why these games against Portland are so crucial.

This season, LA is already 2-0 in the season series against Portland, and the recipe to make that 4-0 is clear. The second meeting between the two teams, which came in late December, was highlighted by Brook Lopez's unreal 31-point night, where he drilled nine threes and saw 14 of his 16 shots come from beyond the arc.

As special as second-year big Donovan Clingan has become for the Blazers, especially as a rim protector and beast on the boards, his lack of mobility kills him against stretch bigs. Portland uses Clingan in a ton of drop coverage, and for a team like the Clippers, a starting center who has the nickname Splash Mountain, it can create problems for the Blazers. For the Clippers to win these games, they are going to need a big-time shooting game from Lopez.

Portland will undoubtedly win the rebounding battle, as they average the seventh-most rebounds per game. But where the Clippers can make them pay is with the three-ball, as Portland has the second-lowest three-point percentage this season, ahead of only the Sacramento Kings.

These two games could shape the Clippers' path in the postseason, and Brook Lopez's ability to space the floor could be the difference maker.