The LA Clippers are playing their best basketball of the season and will look to win a seventh straight game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The LA Clippers continued their six-game win streak Tuesday night by neutralizing Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks, holding one of the NBA’s top-five scoring teams to 99 points and 38 percent shooting from the floor.
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George took the game over, scoring a combined 54 points while Lou Williams added another 21 off the bench as the Clippers once again made use of good defense to create efficient offense.
The matchup against the Grizzlies comes on the back end of back-to-back games, games in which the Clippers have posted a 2-0 record in so far this season in the October 31 win against Utah and the November 7 win over Portland.
Tonight
The LA Clippers will be playing a team that is not seeing near the success they are seeing in the Grizzlies. Memphis is in the midst of a four-game losing streak and has a 4-6 record over its last 10 games.
Rookie guard Ja Morant has shown flashes of what’s to come in his career with impeccable driving ability and shot-creating. Morant currently averages 19.1 points per contest while shooting 46.7 percent, placing him right in the midst of the Rookie of the Year conversation. Meanwhile, Morant has five teammates alongside him that average 10 points per game or more, including fellow rookie Brandon Clarke, who is posting 12.7 points per game.
Memphis no doubt has some young talent, but being very young has already hit them in big games a couple of times as the Grizzlies have a 3-7 record against teams with a .500 record or better.
As for the Clippers, their defense has already begun to cement itself among the NBA’s best at full strength, holding four of their last five opponents to 110 points or less. This was apparent on Tuesday night when Doncic was held to 4-14 shooting and was forced into seven turnovers.
The Grizzlies rank 28th in points allowed per game and 17th in points scored per game, so the Grizzlies defense may hinder their offensive output in this matchup if they can’t force the Clippers into mistakes, which has been an issue as LA ranks 23rd in turnovers per game with 15.8.
Expect Williams to have a big game tonight as the Grizzlies have struggled to stop opposing guards defensively and Williams will likely create his own shot pretty easily against a porous defense. Montrezl Harrell may also be in store for a solid game as he only posted 12 points after scoring a career-high 34 points against the Pelicans.
As long as the Clippers do not make mistakes, they should have no issues against a Grizzlies squad that has struggled late in games while the Clippers are one of the NBA’s best at scoring in the fourth quarter. Expect a close game but the Clippers could pull away late to secure their seventh straight victory.
The Clippers will be without Landry Shamet once again due to injury, and Leonard will again rest as it’s the second game of a back-to-back. George will be active. Memphis has forward Kyle Anderson and Morant listed as day-to-day.
The LA Clippers have won two straight against Memphis and lead the all-time series 48-43. The Clippers and Grizzlies tip-off at 5:00 p.m. PT at FedExForum.