Clippers prepare for Pacers
Listen to this articleThere isn’t much to say about the Clippers game Monday night at Staples Center. As expected, they defeated the Detroit Pistons in a game that was never really in question. The Pistons were able to outscore the Clippers in the final quarter, by one point, but it was too little, too late.
After losing to the Bucks two nights earlier in Milwaukee, a game they could have won and probably should have won, the Clippers were back home and regrouped, ready for the Pistons, who had a lackluster performance at best. Only one of their starters finished with a double-digit point total, center Andre Drummond who had 18 points. It was their bench that added most of their points, 51, keeping the Pistons from becoming completely smothered by the Clippers. Power forward Greg Monroe had 15 points and shooting guard Jodie Meeks finished with 20.
All five of L.A.’s starters finished with double digit scoring. Power forward Blake Griffin hd 18 points, DeAndre Jordan had 16 and J.J. Redick had 14. Jordan Farmar had a big night as well, scoring 15 points off the bench.
Despite starting the game a little flat, by the time the first half was over the Clippers were ahead by 15 points and when the fourth quarter came the Clippers starters took to the bench and let the second team finish the night.
For Detroit, it was a big disappointment after winning two in a row against the Phoenix Suns and Sacramento Kings. For the Clippers it was a relief and a good way to start their two-game home stand.
Tonight the Indiana Pacers come into Staples to face the Clippers and if they play as their record suggests, this should be another win for the Clippers. But the problem with playing a team like the Pacers is that a team like the Clippers can lose their intensity and not play to their full potential. They can forget that on any given night any team can win in the NBA, as the Pacers proved two nights ago when they beat the L.A. Lakers. They’ve also beat the Chicago Bulls and the Dallas Mavericks, two teams with much better records.
So they key for the Clippers tonight is to forget Indiana’s record and stay focused on making every play count. If the Clippers do that then they should win this game.
They are currently in fifth place in the Western Conference. There are still four months left in the season, but head coach Doc Rivers doesn’t want his team to suddenly be playing catch up in March. They are only four games behind the conference-leading Golden State Warriors, which isn’t a big hill to climb, especially with so much of the season yet to be played, but they do not want to fall behind any more and the best place to be during the season is at the top.
Game time tonight is 7:30 p.m. local time.
(All photos by Claudia Gestro)
Claudia is of Peruvian and Italian descent, having been born in a small town, in the North of Peru, South America. She was raised by her grandmother from an early age, living in poverty until Claudia’s mother brought her to America. She landed in Miami, FL and started her new life, playing high school basketball and eventually becoming a United States citizen. Claudia completed her education at Florida International University with a BA in Broadcast Journalism and became a model to supplement her income. Since graduating from FIU Claudia has worked with many of the Spanish Language broadcasting companies, including Telemundo, Univision and most recently Spanish Language channels on SiriusXM satellite radio and PasTV Deportes in Venezuela.She encourages you to follow her on Twitter and Facebook. Her content appears here under a shared content agreement with her Spanish television clients.