Los Angeles Clippers Stat Monkey Brief: Clippers/Raptors (12/9/12)
Lob City Highlight of the Day
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Lob City.
Quick Recap
While it was an 18 point win for the Clippers, the game was not as lopsided as the score suggests. Phoenix was within striking range until about nine minutes left in the fourth (only down five) when the Clippers started to pull away with a 17-4 run. It was really the Clippers' bench that put the game away with Crawford, Barnes, and Bledsoe contributing 44 points off the bench on 51% shooting.
I may be starting to sound like a broken record, but the one area of the Clippers’ game that continues to be worrisome is their 3 point shooting. They only shot 30.4% for the game which brings their season average down to 35% (ranked 15th) while their overall field goal percentage is 48.2% (fourth overall).
Tonight’s Game
Tonight the Clippers look to extend their current winning streak to six, which would tie their longest of the season, against the 4-16 Raptors. Tonight is another easy match up for the Clippers, since the Raptors are atrocious on both ends of the floor. They rank 22nd in offensive efficiency and 28th in defensive efficiency.
One interesting observation is Andrea Bargani the 7'0" center for the Raptors who was selected first overall in the 2006 draft; he's currently only grabbing 4.6 rebounds a game. Meanwhile, the 6'0" Kyle Lowry is grabbing 5.5 boards per game. How do you get outrebounded by a guy who is a foot shorter than you on a consistent basis? Anyway, look for the Clippers to correct some of the issues on defense that caused them to let Phoenix hang around and put away Toronto early.
Predictions
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