Game 66: Los Angeles (45-20) VS Memphis (43-19)

[mkwest]

Who:


Where: STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA


When: Wednesday, March 13th, 2013 @ 7:30PM (PST)
TV:
Radio:

Previous Meetings:
10/31 in Los Angeles: W 101-92
1/14 in Memphis: W 99-73




PG: #3 - Chris Paul SG: #1 - Chauncey Billups

SF: #22 - Matt Barnes PF: #32 - Blake Griffin

C: #6 - DeAndre Jordan


A Tribe Called Bench

Crawford | Green | Hill | Odom | Turiaf






PG: #11 - Mike Conley SG: #9 - Tony Allen

SF: #21 Tayshaun Prince PF: #50 - Zach Randolph

C: #33 - Marc Gasol


Reserves

Bayless | Wroten | Pondexter | Arthur | Davis




Inactive List:

Eric Bledsoe (Sore Left Calf), Caron Butler (Left Elbow Contusion[/b] and Trey Thompkins (Knee - Bone Bruise) are out.



Darrell Arthur (Stiff Neck/Back) is questionable.



Team Leaders and Statistics


Blake Griffin - 18.7 Points and 8.7 Rebounds in 32.2 MPG

Chris Paul - 9.6 Assists (2nd) and 2.4 Steals (1st) in 32.8 MPG

DeAndre Jordan - 1.4 Blocks in 24.1 MPG


Team Performance
Home Record: 25-7
101.1 Points Per Game - 8th Overall
41.5 Rebounds Per Game - 18th Overall
11.4 Offensive Rebounds Per Game - 15th Overall
11.1 Offensive Rebounds Per Game (Opp.) - 13th Overall
23.7 Assists Per Game - 4th Overall
94.4 Points Allowed - 5th Overall
14.9 Turnovers Per Game - 17th Overall
16.6 Turnovers (Opp.) Per Game - 1st Overall
36.0% on 3 point field goals - 13th Overall
37.4% allowed on 3 point field goals - 25th Overall
23.4 Free-Throws Attempted Per Game - 9th Overall
24.0 Free-Throws Attempted Per Game (Opp.) - 26th Overall
0.229 FTA per FGA Allowed: 27th Overall
Offensive Rating: 110.1 Points Scored Per 100 Possessions - 5th Overall
Defensive Rating: 102.7 Points Allowed Per 100 Possessions - 7th Overall
Pace: 91.7 possessions per 48 Minutes - 16th Overall





Zach Randolph - 15.7 Points and 11.6 Rebounds (3rd) in 35.3 MPG

Mike Conley - 6.1 Assists and 2.3 Steals (2nd) in 33.8 MPG

Marc Gasol - 1.7 Blocks in 34.8 MPG



Team Performance
Road Record: 18-11
93.7 Points Per Game - 26th Overall
42.8 Rebounds Per Game - 10th Overall
13.3 Offensive Rebounds Per Game - 1st Overall
10.0 Offensive Rebounds Per Game (Opp.) - 2nd Overall
21.3 Assists Per Game - 23rd Overall
89.4 Points Allowed - 1st Overall
14.5 Turnovers Per Game - 10th Overall
15.8 Turnovers (Opp.) Per Game - 3rd Overall
34.6% on 3 point field goals - 24th Overall
35.5% allowed on 3 point field goals - 13th Overall
20.7 Free-Throws Attempted Per Game - 24th Overall
20.7 Free-Throws Attempted Per Game (Opp.) - 7th Overall
0.199 FTA per FGA Allowed: 14th Overall
Offensive Rating: 104.7 Points Scored Per 100 Possessions - 18th Overall
Defensive Rating: 99.9 Points Allowed Per 100 Possessions - 2nd Overall
Pace: 88.9 possessions per 48 Minutes - 28th Overall

Memphis is currently 1/2 game behind us in the standings, but are officially at 3rd in the West by .002 percentage points. The winner will come out of this game with sole possession of 3rd place (for the time being). A win would give us a 1 1/2 game advantage, while it would put the Grizzlies up by a 1/2 game if they come out victorious. Lastly, a win on Wednesday night would give us the tie-breaker over the Grizzlies and put us a 3-0 for the season.

The Grizzlies look a little different since the last time the two teams met up. Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington, Hamed Haddadi, Josh Selby and Rudy Gay (who did not play in the last meeting) have all been shipped out and replaced with the likes of Tayshaun Prince, Ed Davis, Austin Daye and Jon Leuer. The Grizzlies will likely be out for revenge after the 26 point thrashing that they suffered at the hands of a Clipper team who were without Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups. The Clippers must keep them off of the offensive glass. As one of the slower paced teams, it would be nice if the Clippers could push the tempo a bit, but they will have to do it without Eric Bledsoe. With Caron out of action for the next week, we'll need Billups, Crawford and Barnes to help spread the floor for us against one of the top defensive teams in the league.

These two teams do not like each other (huge understatement) so the game could very well have a playoff-like atmosphere. With so much on the line, this is a must win for both teams. Hopefully we win and Charles is watching

[azncorruptedo17]

without EB / Butler i'm not sure how we're going to pull a win. BG/DJ NEED to stay out of foul trouble or we're def SOL.

I'll be at the game, hopefully it's a nail biter and we come out on top. WOOOOOOOOOO

[kylem4711]

Huge game today. This would be a huge confidence booster is the clippers won.

I think it will all come down to the clippers defending z-bo and gasol. Keep those fouls to a minimum, don't bite on the fakes, and box out!

[illastrate]

without EB / Butler i'm not sure how we're going to pull a win. BG/DJ NEED to stay out of foul trouble or we're def SOL.

I'll be at the game, hopefully it's a nail biter and we come out on top. WOOOOOOOOOO

Barnes > Butler. Bledsoe will be missed. Hill will have to contribute and Jamal is back. Maybe Wayns can get some mins with his quickness.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2

[mttwlsn16]

Need this W

[mike3]

Tough tough game. I'd love to see Blake and DJ dominate down low with power and toughness to beat these sissy big men Gasol + Randolph. There game's really frustrate me, soft floaters, pop shots, hook shots, but DJ especially needs to do a better job defending Gasol's mid range.

[mkwest]

Paul is 5 points shy of the 10,000th point mark. Prince is only 10 points away himself. Both are likely to pass that milestone tonight, but Prince has only scored in double digits in 7 of his 17 games with the Grizzlies.

[SD2042]

If Gasol and ZBo's games frustrate you as you stated, it doesn't classified these guys as sissies. It just make them twice as dangerous.

[thanumba2clippersfan]

This is my favorite time of year right now because of all the basketball. I'm all in on college hoops right now, but I can always take a break for my Clippers.

Should be a tough one tonight. I know Caron is out and it's tough that Bledsoe can't play. I love his defense and energy. I'm hoping that we can win this one, I know we're capable of it. This is a big game in terms of playoff seeding, no way I want us in 4th.

[Quake Griffin]

why is every media outlet putting the pressure on us because of the losses to OKC and SAS?

we beat this team in the playoffs last year.
they have something to prove.


let's go out there and kick their ass tonite.
end of story.

[mkwest]

why is every media outlet putting the pressure on us because of the losses to OKC and SAS?

we beat this team in the playoffs last year.
they have something to prove.


let's go out there and kick their ass tonite.
end of story.

We're one of the few teams that were considered title contenders. Miami and OKC are proven and San Antonio's presence goes without saying. In the last month and a half, we were pummeled by Miami (in Miami) and San Antonio (at home), and we were swept by the Thunder for the season. We've beaten Miami and San Antonio in 3 of our 5 meetings, but those were earlier in the season. All the pundits see is that we've been beaten pretty handily by those teams in recent meetings (disregarding any extenuating circumstances that may have existed). We were swept San Antonio in the playoffs, while Memphis upset them in the playoffs 2 seasons ago.

[Quake Griffin]

why is every media outlet putting the pressure on us because of the losses to OKC and SAS?

we beat this team in the playoffs last year.
they have something to prove.


let's go out there and kick their ass tonite.
end of story.

We're one of the few teams that were considered title contenders. Miami and OKC are proven and San Antonio's presence goes without saying. In the last month and a half, we were pummeled by Miami (in Miami) and San Antonio (at home), and we were swept by the Thunder for the season. We've beaten Miami and San Antonio in 3 of our 5 meetings, but those were earlier in the season. All the pundits see is that we've been beaten pretty handily by those teams in recent meetings (disregarding any extenuating circumstances that may have existed). We were swept San Antonio in the playoffs, while Memphis upset them in the playoffs 2 seasons ago.

yea...the team lost to an OKC team that got trampled by Dallas after beating an SAS team that had Manu with a broken arm.

we beat them last year with no Billups, groin hampered cp3, broken hand Caron and a knee twisted Griffin.
the angle is just a way for the media to take an "i'll believe it when i see it" approach with the Clippers and their ability to contend.

is there a problem with that? no...i like it for 3 reasons.
1. id rather be discussed as being a fraudulent contender than not considered at all like 5-8.
2. at this juncture of our franchise, i'll enjoy the underdog role going into these playoff series.
3. we've bought that with our play

it doesn't bother me in the context of SAS or OKC...but when you have people like Charles Barkley saying we're no good but Memphis IS A CONTENDER.
nah...pump the brakes and use the same level of analysis as u do with us.
they haven't proven a damn thing....and we beat them.

isn't that what winning is for? why win in sports AT ALL if nobody is going to give u the credit u deserve and the respect earned from winning?

[mkwest]

yea...the team lost to an OKC team that got trampled by Dallas after beating an SAS team that had Manu with a broken arm.

we beat them last year with no Billups, groin hampered cp3, broken hand Caron and a knee twisted Griffin.
the angle is just a way for the media to take an "i'll believe it when i see it" approach with the Clippers and their ability to contend.

is there a problem with that? no...i like it for 2 reasons.
1. id rather be discussed as being a fraudulent contender than not considered at all like 5-8.
2. at this juncture of our franchise, i'll enjoy the underdog role going into these playoff series.

it doesn't bother me in the context of SAS or OKC...but when you have people like Charles Barkley saying we're no good but Memphis IS A CONTENDER.
nah...pump the brakes and use the same level of analysis as u do with us.
they haven't proven a damn thing....and we beat them.

isn't that what winning is for? why win in sports AT ALL if nobody is going to give u the credit u deserve and the respect earned from winning?

I said this in the thread about Blake's evolution and teetering on elite and excellent, I just hope it fuels the players. A lot of the skepticism is the name on the front of the jersey. The Clips are heavily picked apart where our weaknesses are highlighted more than these other teams are. I'm fine with being the underdog in the public eye.

[Quake Griffin]

why won't blake shoot the damn ball?

ill live with that brick if u miss it man.
fkuc

[thanumba2clippersfan]

Looks like Prince came to play for the Grizzlies

[Quake Griffin]

i want chris to get going early but not an offensive foul.


come matty.
not tayshaun prince...i love him...hes the pride of LA...but we can't let him kill us.

[mkwest]

Prince is the 317th player to score 10,000 points. Paul is 3 away.

[mike3]

Barnes looks like he's taking it easy vs Prince on D.. he's already got 10...

[mkwest]

Thank you Conley

[mkwest]

Tayshaun