Tinseltown sweep? Clippers game thread

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Can you imagine sweeping the LA teams and going back home 6-2 to face the Cavs and the Nuggets? Too much to hope for? I'm not too sure. Yes, our boys are likely to have tired legs after paying big minutes last night, and Vegas has the Clippers a 6 1/2 point favorite. But there is a case to be made for the Wolves tonight.

First, we tend to play well against the Clippers at Staples when we are at full strength. I have had the pleasure of watching us knock off the Clips twice in two spectacular games in the past 2 years: the Kevin Love 3-pointer in overtime, and then the improbable comeback with Williams and Beas both coming off the bench to score 27! Even in our early season loss last year (without Rubio), Pek and Love physically beat them up and we stayed with them the entire game (more on this later).

Secondly, although they are a fashionable surprise choice to win the West this year, the Clippers are a team with a lot of holes:

1) With Barnes out, they are horribly shallow in their frontcourt. I know we all have concerns about our depth, but how would you like to have Byron Mullins as your only legitimate backup big...if you can even call Mullins legitimate. All of a sudden, Cunningham and Williams look pretty good!

2) They may be as weak as the Lakers defensively. They are giving up over 106 points per game, and really struggle guarding the perimeter. I only watched them in their opening night "road" loss to the Lakers, but I was surprised at how many wide open 3-pointers the Lakers had, and it makes sense that opponents are shooting over 37% against them beyond the arc. Griffin isn't interested in playing defense out that far, and Dudley and Reddick aren't athletic enough to guard the perimeter effectively. The Kevins could have a field day out there IF they have their legs tonight.

3) Jordan and Griffin are very athletic, but they are soft and sometimes physically intimidated by Pek and Love. I sat next to a Clippers fan at last year's November game, and at first he was stunned that a team with Malcolm Lee at PG was playing his team even. But then he admitted that the Clippers' bigs were being physically dominated by ours. He was right. Tonight I will be watching Pek closely. If he is physical early, it does two things for us: frustrates Jordan and takes him out of the game, and perhaps gets Jordan/Griffin in early foul trouble to exploit their lack of depth. I hope we see last year's version of Pek tonight.

4) Dudley should not be a starter in the NBA. He is a teaser, because he is such a consistently great shooter. Jared's problem isn't shooting, it's his inability to find shots. He just isn't athletic enough to work himself into good shooting situations consistently, and as a result, he has never averaged over 10 shots a game. This year as he adjusts to a new offense, it is even worse, as he is averaging only 7 shots a game. He can't rebound, is a below average defender, and will never be a high scorer. How is he starting on a contending team? Easy...with Barnes out, he's the only SF suiting up tonight! For the third consecutive game, Corey is matched up against a non-elite SF, and like last night, that allows him to wreak havoc off the ball.

So, lots of reason the Wolves could win tonight. I'm just concerned their weary legs get the better of them. I look for the Clippers to send out a lot of three guard lineups tonight, so it will be interesting to see how Adelman responds. Expect to see a lot of Berea and Shved tonight...how they play may determine tonight's winner.

[thedoper]

Wish I was goin too.

[shahidi124 [enjin:6591729]]

Only two teams have beat the Lakers and Clippers in LA on back to back nights. History is against us, but damn it would be sweet.

[bleedspeed]

The good thing about this back to back is that we didn't have to travel. It is possible we could be well rested from just that.

[BloopOracle]

Wolves are a top 5 team in the NBA we should win this game

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I've said this multiple times, our bigs >>> LAC's bigs. That's normally how we beat the Clips. Griffin and Jordan have happy feet on defense and it gets them in foul trouble. On the other side, they can't make free throws. It's why they'll never win an NBA title, in my opinion. DeAndre gets the "Hack-A-Howard" treatment in crunch time. Rubio vs Paul is going to be the best matchup on the floor. Hopefully Ricky attacks attacks attacks the rim. Ricky has the tools to drive on Paul. Can also draw fouls on Griffin/Jordan. I don't wanna see many jumpers from Ricky unless it's an open three, where he can get set and shoot. I believe he's a fine shooter in those scenarios. Pull up jumpers and jumpers off the dribble should be kept to a minimum tonight.

[worldK]

1 key to the game would be to out rebound the clips. Love and pek needs to win the rebounding battle againts blake and jordan. Rubio needs to crash the board as well so we can start our fast break attack.

[markkbu [enjin:6588958]]

1 key to the game would be to out rebound the clips. Love and pek needs to win the rebounding battle againts blake and jordan. Rubio needs to crash the board as well so we can start our fast break attack.

Rubio rebounding last game worked very well, he needs to keep that up.

[markkbu [enjin:6588958]]

With a win here, we should be in consideration for one of the top 4 teams in the West.

[Porckchop]

Does playing at break neck speed play into the Clippers hands a lil bit or is that the best way for the Wolves stay with them offensively? I wonder if slowing it down a bit in the half court wouldnt be advantageous.