The Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers are starting off their season with very different expectations. The Lakers are simply hoping to keep their heads above water thanks to two season-ending injuries to critical players. The Clippers are expected to be title contenders with the idea that they will represent the Western Conference in the NBA Finals. While the Lakers have met their expectations, the Clippers have not and now both teams face off in hopes of showing some kind of improvement.
The Clippers struggled in their season opener as they barely beat the short-handed Oklahoma City Thunder. Already without Kevin Durant, the team also lost Russell Westbrook with a broken hand in the second quarterback. However, in their absence Perry Jones put up 32 points while the Thunder out-rebounded the Clippers 47-33. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin did their part to each put up 22 and 23 points respectively, but their remaining teammates went just 17 for 51. JJ Redick and Jamal Crawford went a combined 3 for 15 from beyond the arc. They managed a 93-90 win.
The Lakers are not exactly looking great either after injuries to both Steve Nash and Julius Randle as both players will miss the entire season. The team has allowed 113.5 points through two games while opponents went 28 from 61 beyond the arc. Most recently, Phoenix went 16 for 32 from 3-point range while winning the 119-99 game.
The Lakers offense has been dismal. The team is shooting just 39.4 percent while going 7 of 23 from beyond the arc. Kobe Bryant has 50 points to his name. He put up 31 points against the Suns while the rest of the roster combined for just 25 points. Jeremy Lin is struggling to lead the offense. Carlos Boozer is turning the ball over.
The Clippers have strong history against the Lakers that they hope to continue. The team has won the last eight of nine meeting by an average of 22.0 points. In four meetings last year, the Clippers averaged 122.0 points while going a combined 41.6 percent from 3-point range.