Los Angeles Clippers vs. Portland Trailblazers
February 15th, 2012
Los Angeles Clippers vs. Portland Trailblazers
NBA / Western Conference
Rose Garden, Portland, OR
Thursday, February 16th, 2012. 10:30 PM EST
Analysis of the Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers lost a heartbreaker to the Mavericks in Dallas to conclude their long 6-game road streak just a few days ago. Outside of that, there has been little to complain about in LA this year. The Clips, led by All-Stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, have roared out to a 17-9 start behind a fantastic offense and are looking to make the playoffs (and go deep in them) for the first time in a while.
Analysis of the Portland Trailblazers
The Trailblazers came into this season with high hopes after doing well last season (going 48-34 before losing to the eventual champion Dallas Mavericks in the playoffs) and making a key offseason acquisition of SF/PF Gerald Wallace. Unfortunately the start of this year hasn’t gone the way that the Blazers have wanted it to, sputtering out to a 15-14 start. A bright spot has been All-Star PF Lamarcus Aldridge though as he is averaging 23 points a night and is putting up great rebound numbers as well.
Key Players
Los Angeles Clippers: Blake Griffin
One of the younger superstars of the league, Griffin has wowed crows with his high-flying dunks for a little over a year now. He puts up great numbers also, averaging 21 points and 11 rebounds a game. A tough matchup with fellow PF Aldridge awaits, but if Griffin can overcome Aldridge’s great defense then the Clippers will come out victorious.
Portland Trailblazers: Jamal Crawford
Crawford, who has to be a candidate for 6th man of the year, scores. It’s what he does best and it’s what the Trailblazers rely on him to do. He’ll have a favorable matchup against SG Randy Foye of the Clippers for most of the night, and against the Clippers defense Crawford could explode for 20-25 points. If he does this the Trailbalzers will be tough to beat on Thursday.
Key Statistics
Free Throw Percentage:
As outlined above, arguably the two best players on the court will be power forwards. Both will try and go to the line, where the Trailblazers do very well (shooting almost 79%, 5th best in the NBA) and the Clippers don’t do well at all (shooting only 68%, 2nd worst in the NBA). The Trailblazers will have to take advantage of this if they want to upset the Clippers at home.
Prediction
The Clippers lost that heartbreaker on Monday night and are going to look to make up for it over the course of the next week. The Trailblazers will definitely recognize that this game is a big one, but I don’t think that even a nationally-televised audience as well as a home game will be enough to stop an angry “Lob City” squad from destroying the Trailblazers.
Prediction = Los Angeles Clippers: 99 – Portland Trailblazers: 84
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