This is a week in which the Clippers can make a stand in their quest to qualify for the Western Conference playoffs.
They will face two formidable foes in back-to-back games against the Nuggets at Denver on Tuesday night and the Houston Rockets at Staples Center on Wednesday night, two combatants that are ahead of the Clippers in the crowded and super-tough West.
They will face the going-nowhere New York Knicks on Friday night at home, a sub-.500 team the Clippers need to defeat in order keep their playoff dreams from fading.
The march starts with the Clippers trailing the eighth-place Nuggets by one game for the final playoff berth in the West.