Sacramento Kings: Game 82 Preview at Los Angeles Clippers
By Tyler Watts
LA Clippers Scouting Report
The LA Clippers enter with a record of 50 wins and 31 losses and currently hold the fourth position in the Western Conference standings. They hold the tiebreaker over the Utah Jazz for that fourth seed, so the Jazz need a victory tonight and a Clippers loss to gain home court in that first round series.
Obviously, that gives the Clippers a big incentive to win this game, so I do not expect LA to take their foot off the gas until they are victorious. I expect to see big minutes from Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan and a hungry Clippers squad tonight.
Last time out, the Clippers hosted the Houston Rockets on Monday night. LA ran their winning streak to six consecutive games with a 125-96 victory that night. Below is a highlight video from that game to give you a glimpse at the Clippers’ most recent form.
CP3’s Time to Shine
Chris Paul has long been one of the NBA’s premier talents, but he is still without that elusive championship ring. I do not think Paul is the one to blame for that, though. Let us take a look at his playoff numbers to draw a clearer portrait.
Chris Paul has played 69 playoff games in his career. In those games, Paul averaged 21.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 9.4 assists, 2.3 steals, and 1.5 three-pointers made per game in 38.1 minutes a night. Throw in shooting percentages of 48.3% from the field, 38.3% from three-point territory and 84.4% from the charity stripe and Paul clearly increases his minutes and production in the playoffs.
The question looms as to how far Paul will be able to lead the Clippers this year? The Clippers are reaching the end of a championship window and now is the time for Chris Paul to step up and lead his men to a ring.