An inter-conference battle could see one of the match-ups of the NBA season when the high-flying Toronto Raptors host the Los Angeles Clippers who look to consolidate their top four position, once again without Blake Griffin. Join The Roar for live scores from 10am (AEDT).
The Toronto Raptors have really had a very strong first half of the season, winning 28 of their 43 matches so far, giving them a winning percentage of 65.1 and leaving them in second position, only behind the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference.
In saying that, they are a whole 2.5 games back and must continue to improve strongly if they want to compete with them, beat teams like the Chicago Bulls who sit below them on the table and match it with the best in the west – The Golden State Warriors and the San Antonio Spurs.
The Raptors, though, enter this game having won seven in a row. In that winning streak, they have managed to record wins against the likes of the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat. However, last time they played what you would call a top team, it was two losses in a row as they went down to the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Clippers meanwhile will once again enter this contest without Blake Griffin. Without him inside, it really open up their defence and limits options for scoring. With limited prescience inside it is something DeAndre Jordan will be looking to make the most of.
Form for the Clippers was absolutely brilliant before they hit their last five matches, having lost two of those. Coming off a 10 match winning streak, the losses they suffered against the Sacramento Kings and the Cleveland Cavaliers were not good ones, and they were really missing Griffin on both ends of the floor.
Being an inter-conference match-up of course means the teams only play each other twice throughout the season. Their first meeting came back in November at the Staples Center, where the Raptors managed to record a very important road win.
In that game it was all Demar DeRozan who dropped 21 points on the Clippers and filled up the stats sheet right across the board. With so many weapons on each team, who could all potentially light up you would expect it might only take a performance like that from DeRozan to tip this game in one team’s balance.
Prediction
It’s difficult to tip against the Raptors at home. They already hold the wood over the Clippers this season and will be keen to sweep the season series. The Clippers without Griffin should struggle as they did last time out inside the paint. Expect Kyle Lowy to be in for a big game.
Raptors by 12.
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