The LA Clippers travel to Minnesota tonight to face the Timberwolves. What should we expect?
The LA Clippers received a full beatdown in Dallas yesterday, losing to the Mavericks 108-82. To keep it simple: It was not pretty. The Clippers shot an awful 34.9% from the field. As Brad Turner of the LA Times points out, outside of Austin Rivers and Lou Williams, the Clippers really lack any sort of offensive firepower until Danilo Gallinari, Milos Teodosic and eventually Blake Griffin return. Now, the Clippers will try to back against the Timberwolves.
Tonight
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The Timberwolves had a pretty solid off-season, gaining a superstar in Jimmy Butler. Their young core plus Butler was expected to do well, but they have stumbled at times. They currently sit at 13-10, which is good enough for 5th in the Western Conference. The Clippers will have their hands full defensively.
The big man battle
Karl Anthony Towns is a budding young star and DeAndre Jordan will have his work cut out for him. Many have noted DeAndre’s lack of closing out on shooters, but that will have to change tonight against KAT. If DJ gets dominated, then the Clippers have no chance to pull off the upset.
Six Men
Former Clippers’ guard Jamal Crawford now suits up for the Timberwolves. He may want to get a little revenge against this team after they parted ways with him over the summer. Meanwhile for the Clips, Lou Williams will have to come out shooting. His scoring is a complete necessity with the injuries the team is suffering, so expect the two to get into a shootout at some point.