The Lakers enter the city showdown with their neighbors from down the hall at Staples Center having won more games in the last week than the Clippers. That will change on Friday, but at least the Lakers can briefly reclaim their spot as LA’s team. The Lakers scored a rare win Tuesday, beating Denver, while the Clippers have lost three straight.
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LETDOWN
It’s good to be home for the Holiday’s, and that’s exactly where the Clippers and Lakers will be when they square off on Christmas Day. The City of Angels will be treated to the first of four matchups between its basketball teams. While LA used to be a Lakers town, their downtrodden stretch of seasons has catapulted the once moribund Clippers into mega-star status. But all is not fine in Clippers nation, and according to point guard Chris Paul, things may be worse than they appear. After their 107-97 loss on Saturday to the underperforming Houston Rockets, Paul expressed his disappointment with his team’s performance, saying the Clips are not a team anyone needs to worry about. They followed that game with a home loss to Oklahoma City, their third straight, dropping them to 16-13. The Clippers have failed to live up to the high preseason expectations, often times looking lethargic and uninterested with the task at hand.
INJURIES
Austin Rivers missed the Clippers’ last game with an ankle injury and is questionable to play against the Lakers. He’s seen a decline in minutes and production recently with Lance Stephenson and Pablo Prigioni getting an increased workload. Paul Pierce is nursing a sore back that could also keep him out of Friday’s game.
Kobe Bryant is playing with a sore shoulder that forced him to miss a game earlier in the week. However, he returned to score 31 points in a win at Denver on Tuesday.
KEY MATCHUP
It goes against Chris Paul’s nature to look for his shot before the pass. But when he takes a more aggressive role on offense, he can take the Clippers to another level. Monday night was an example. Paul took over the scoring duties from Blake Griffin, who opened the game making just 1 of 10 shots, and netted 16 points with four assists in the first quarter. He finished with 32 points on 11 of 19 shooting, 10 assists and five rebounds. Paul is averaging 17.5 points this season, but in the last four games he’s scored more than 20 points three times, and topped 30 points once. He’s also dished out 38 assists in that span. But, as Paul said, it doesn’t mean anything if the team isn’t winning, and they aren’t, having lost three straight. Paul can improve on his numbers, and more importantly help his team to a win against a Lakers team that is one of the worst in the NBA this season.
ODDS AND PREDICTION
The Clippers have been an enigma this season. They have a talented starting group which rivals that of any team in the NBA, but have lost three straight entering their tilt with the Lakers to fall to 16-13 SU and 10-16-3 ATS. We’re far enough into the season to get a good gauge on teams and the Clips are inconsistent and lacking motivation it seems. Looking at the numbers, it’s clear their high-powered offensive approach that has been successful in years past hasn’t been firing on all cylinders. Bryant is the only player in purple and gold who was around when the Lakers were the dominant team in Los Angeles. Most of the guys currently on the roster know only one thing, and that’s losing to the Clippers. Bryant will do his best but the supporting cast just isn’t there yet. D’Angelo Russell and Julius Randle will experience the LA rivalry for the first time and realize there is some catching up to do. The Lakers got a rare win Tuesday, knocking off the Nuggets in Denver, so it’ll be another few weeks before they get another.
Clippers 107, Lakers 97
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