LA Clippers vs Los Angles Lakers preview: Game 2

The LA Clippers are finally home and face the Los Angeles Lakers in their second match-up of the season.

The LA Clippers are finally home and have won 2 games in a row! Tonight, they face off against their cross hall rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers. The team hopes for a repeat of opening night, where they dismantled the Lakers. However, a few key pieces will be missing this time around.

The Guard Situation

The biggest difference from opening night is the lack of Patrick Beverley. Beverley is shut down for the year, after having knee surgery. He famously took the first shot at Lonzo Ball of the NBA season and fans were excited to see the rematch, but they will have to wait for next season.

Meanwhile, the other Clippers’ guard, Milos Teodosic, won’t be back until after Christmas. This means one thing:

We get Austin Rivers versus Lonzo Ball.

As you can see, Rivers is scoring at a higher and more efficient rate than Ball. However, the young Lakers’ star has great court vision and rebounding prowess, especially for a guard. He has had some trouble knocking down shots this season, but he will no doubt be an impact player in the league.

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The Forwards

Blake Griffin will have to come out shining again. With Danilo Gallinari still out, Griffin is far and above the main scoring option. The decision to start Lou Williams has helped alleviate some of his load, but Griffin needed to score a season-high 33 points, including a game winning shot, to beat the Kings on Saturday. Expect him to shoulder a big load again tonight.

Despite being short handed, the LA Clippers should have some energy returning home and can pull out a victory against these young Lakers. Maybe we’ll even spot Kendall Jenner there, though we hope she roots for the right team this time around.