team finally cracked the top10 power ranking this week, just got to keep the momentum and hope the dubs keep sucking on the road, the other two games to finish the week should be easy but ones a back to back so im only expecting them to win one of those so they really got to take the two games where kawhi/pg plays seriously
#10↑
LA CLIPPERS
Record: 36-33
OffRtg: 113.1 (20)
DefRtg: 113.2 (12)
NetRtg: -0.1 (19)
Pace: 98.5 (24)
After losing their first five games out of the All-Star break, the Clippers began a stretch where they were playing nine of 10 at home. And they’ve begun that stretch with three straight wins. Defense was an issue over the losing streak, but they held the Raptors and Knicks to just
104.3 points per 100 possessions last week, winning two games in which they totaled just 37 points (committing 12 turnovers) over the two first quarters. For the second straight season, the Clippers have been a much better team in second halves (
plus-4.0 points per 100 possessions) than they’ve been before halftime (minus-4.2).
Kawhi Leonard had
16 of those 37 first-quarter points against Toronto and New York and has averaged
32 (on 54/50/93 shooting splits) over the three-game winning streak. At one point this season, he was 5-for-30 from 3-point range. But he’s now at 41.9% (
the second best mark of his career) from beyond the arc, shooting slightly better on pull-up 3s (
33-for-79, 41.8%) than he has off the catch (
41-for-100, 41.0%). His legs have also looked pretty good
on the break, and the Clippers are now 26-15 with Leonard in the lineup and 10-18 otherwise.
The Clippers’ home-heavy stretch continues for another couple of weeks, and the most important game in that stretch is their visit from the champs on Wednesday. They currently lead the sixth-place Warriors by a half-game and the home team has won
all three head-to-head meetings thus far, with their game in San Francisco 11 days ago being the Clippers’
worst offensive game of the season (91 points on 103 possessions).
After Wednesday, the Clippers will play six straight against teams with losing records, though they have a back-to-back this weekend. They’re just 3-9 (1-8 since mid-November) in the second game of back-to-backs.
Week 22: vs. GSW, vs. ORL, @ POR