Los Angeles Clippers Stat Monkey Brief: Clippers/Suns (12/23/12)
Lob City Highlight of the Night
Let’s give it up for the little guy getting major air on both ends of the floor.
Quick Recap
While the Mayans were busy going 0-1 on their predictions, I went 2-0. The Clippers have extended their win streak to 12 and their strength of schedule dropped to -.03, which now ranks 12th in the league.
Overall, the Clippers did not play amazing and shot below average from the floor. The one area they really dominated was rebounding. They grabbed 21 more rebounds than the Kings, which was their biggest differential of their season. Combine that with Chris Paul playing his best game of the season, at least according to basketball-reference.com, and the Kings’ best player being benched by the coach for acting like a big baby, and it all adds up to the Clippers getting another double digit win.
Tonight’s Game
The Clippers go on a one game road trip to take on the 11-16 Suns. While the Suns are ranked 25th in defensive efficiency and 13th in offensive efficiency, they are 4-1 in their five last games. Impressively enough, one of those wins came against the Grizzlies, who have been a solid team this year.
But the Clippers blew out the Suns by 18 just two weeks ago, and this game does not look much different. The Clippers are currently third in defensive efficiency, and the Suns don’t have any legitimate scoring options who can create their own shots. Their current leading scorer is Goran Dragic, who is averaging career highs in every single category, but that's mostly because he is playing an extra six minutes per game and somebody has to score. Unless the Clippers go ice cold, below 40 percent shooting from the field, expect them to completely shut down the Suns and extend that win streak even further.
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