Los Angeles Lakers vs. Los Angeles Clippers: Game Preview, Prediction
By Anthony F. Irwin
@AnthonyIrwinNBA
Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
In one locker room: Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. In the other locker room: Kobe Bryant, Nick Young and… Carlos Boozer? Ladies and gentlemen, the 2015 version of Los Angeles Lakers vs. Los Angeles Clippers.
Interestingly enough, the most damaging blow the Clippers could deal their Staples Center counterpart might actually be letting the Lakers win. That is, if only they weren’t smack-dab in the middle of the most competitive conference the NBA has ever seen.
To say this season has gone as expected for either franchise would be quite the stretch of the imagination. Okay, I misspoke. To say this season has gone as expected for the Clippers would be quite the stretch of the imagination. Prognosticators envisioned leaps forward for Griffin and Jordan, while the rest of the organization came together after the Donald Sterling fiasco. Instead, these Clippers have beaten up on bad teams, struggled against decent to good ones and sit sixth in the aforementioned crazy Western Conference.
Conversely, anyone who looked at the Lakers’ roster/coach combination before the season and anticipated anything more than where they currently sit might have been kidding themselves a bit. That being said, they have been playing better of late, as Kobe has taken on more of a facilitator role. Since Christmas, (a 20-point blowout to the Chicago Bulls) they haven’t sustained a double-digit loss. Progress!
The Clippers obviously have quite the advantage against their hallway rivals. Nearly every position is a decided mismatch in their favor, most markedly at power forward, as Griffin dropped 39 points back on Halloween. For whatever reason, though, the Lakers – even during the most frustrating stretch in franchise history – give the Clippers problems. Even on Halloween, the Clippers needed a fourth-quarter comeback to hold off a Lakers team that started the season with only one win through its first 10 games.
All that said, this being a “home” game for the Clippers, it’s hard to imagine they won’t beat the Lakers handily.
Final score: Clippers 116, Lakers 94
Anthony F. Irwin is an NBA, NFL, MLB and NCAA Football contributor for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google. Send him an email at .
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