LA Clippers host Warriors as they hope to bounce back

The LA Clippers host Golden State today.  There are some tough match-ups but the Clippers hope to grind out a win at home.

The Clippers are coming off of a loss to OKC, which ended a four game win streak.  The LA Clippers have been looking alive and are trying to claw their way up in the standings to reach at least the 8th seed in the West.

Injuries

Injuries are still affecting LA with Danilo Gallinari and Austin Rivers still sidelined; Rivers is seeking a second opinion on his achilles injury.  Wednesday night Clippers PF/C Montrezl Harrell posted a video to his Instagram account of him in a doctors office, leading some to question if he will be healthy enough to play.  To add to the list, Milos Teodosic is out after injurying himself on Thursday.

A lot of the guard scoring will have to come from one place. LA Clippers’ sixth man Lou Williams has been having a career year averaging 21.7 points a game and 30.6 points over his last 5 games.

Defense

With Kevin Durant not playing, the Warriors will have to rely more on Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. This could present a challenge for the short rotation of guards the Clippers have.

Match-ups

There will be some interesting match-ups to keep an eye on.  CJ Williams will likely be on Thompson, while Jawun Evans will have the tough task of shadowing Curry.  The marquee match-up though is Blake Griffin versus Draymond Green. Blake will be expected to do a lot, but Green is a premiere defender. It should get interesting.

The Clippers have recently been letting sloppy play in the first half of games create situations in which they have out hustle their opponents after halftime.  If they are going to get a win tonight the team will have stay sharp from beginning to end.