Los Angeles Clippers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
February 6th, 2012
Los Angeles Clippers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers
NBA / Interconference
Wednesday, February 8th, 2012
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, OH, 7:00PM EST
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Analysis of the Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers will be coming into this game in the middle of a long road-stand, having just taken on the Orlando Magic. They’ve started the season off very well, racing out to a 14-7 start, good for 2nd in the Western Conference. The addition of Chris Paul to their roster has clearly caused a historically bad franchise to become very relevant almost overnight.
Analysis of the Cleveland Cavaliers
The loss of LeBron James prior to last season was irrecoverable blow to the Cavs, but their awful season last year helped them land the first overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. They used that to pick PG Kyrie Irving out of Duke University, and Irving hasn’t waited in bringing his great play to the NBA. Between Irving and fellow rookie PF Tristan Thompson, the Cavs have been one of the pleasant surprises in this young season starting out 9-13, just .5 games away from a playoff berth.
Key Players
Los Angeles Clippers: Blake Griffin
Griffin is the star player of this squad, and he’ll get a chance to go up against an underperforming PF Antawn Jamison when these two teams clash. If Griffin can over perform, maybe pulling off a 25-15 game, the Clips will run away with this one.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Kyrie Irving
Again, Irving has wasted no time becoming one of the better PG’s in the NBA. He’ll have an extremely tough matchup on Wednesday, going up against the best PG in the league in Chris Paul. If Irving can match up well against Paul, maybe even limiting Paul’s output, the Cavs will have a shot at taking this game.
Key Statistics
Free Throw Percentage:
These teams are two of the worst at making free throws, both making less than 70% of their attempts. The team that can both get to the line and make their shots will have a big upper hand in this game.
Prediction
The Cavaliers are at home and are coming off a big recent win against the Dallas Mavericks. While these are important factors, the Clippers are clearly the hotter and better-assembled squad, making this a game that they should run away with. Fortunately games are played on the court, not on paper, making this one potentially much closer than many will think.
Prediction = Los Angeles Clippers: 90 – Cleveland Cavaliers: 85
