NBA Early Preview – Golden State Warriors at LA Clippers (XMas)
After dropping a surprise game to the LA Lakers on Tuesday night, the Golden State Warriors (23-4) will play a second straight game at the Staples Center on Christmas night when they face the LA Clippers (19-10) at 10:30 p.m. Eastern.
Despite the loss to the Lakers, Golden State remains the best team in the league (record-wise). The Warriors get it done at both ends of the floor, averaging 108.3 PPG while giving up just 98.
The Warriors are also top-three in the league in rebounds (45.5 RPG) and assists (25.7 APG).
On the other side of the floor, the Clippers have been solid at the Staples Center, going 11-3 on their home court. They struggle to keep the ball out of their own basket at times, giving up 101.1 PPG, but they score at an even higher rate, averaging almost 107 points per night. The dynamic duo of Blake Griffin and Chris Paul combine to produce 41.2 points and 14.2 assists per game.
In their last game, the Clippers fell on the road to the red-hot Hawks, 106-101.
The Christmas title between LA and Golden State will be latest in what has turned into one of the association’s best rivalries. When the teams squared off last Christmas, the game ended in a near brawl and Blake Griffin and Andrew Bogut were ejected. The Clippers then went on to eliminate the Warriors in the first round of the playoffs.
Expect more fireworks – and a high-scoring game – come Christmas night.
(Photo credit: By Verse Photography (Flickr: 20131118 ClippersvGrizzles31) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)
Zack is a tour guide whose favorite sports are football, baseball, and golf. He enjoys giving obnoxious commentary during games and hopes to some day write a book about sports. His favorite underdog victory was the Diamondbacks beating the Yankees in game 7 of the World Series.
