Losing Blake Griffin for 4-6 weeks wouldn’t be a good thing for any team. However, the Clips to have suitable replacements and are big enough and strong enough to weather the storm. With both Austin Rivers and Luc Mbah a Moute each healthy once again, the two will likely split the roll as Blake’s backup. Neither are averaging the points needed to properly fill in for Blake’s 21.4 per night, but when your team is third in the league in average win margin with +8.2 PPG, you can usually get away with it. That and they’re playing the Lakers – a team that they beat by an average of 20 points in each of their three meetings last season.
Barring a Christmas miracle, this should be a walk off win for the Clippers and a nice shot in the arm to help secure their top three standing in the West to end 2016.
Betting on the Los Angeles Lakers (11-22)
The Los Angeles Lakers have been looking lacklustre at best. After starting the year with a decent 6-4 record and turning a few heads, the team has nose dived through the holiday break. Heading into their Christmas Eve tilt with Orlando, the team had a 1-11 December record in the works, which included an 8-game losing skid. The team does have players worth noting on the way up with D’Angelo Russell, Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle and Brandon Ingram each seeing plenty of floor time. So, with that said, the team has been exciting to watch (at times). However, again, with that said, the team has also looked nothing short of awful as of late – less their lone win against pitiful Sixers.
So what can we come to expect on Christmas Day? Well, we can likely expect the Clippers to dominate the young Lakers. It won’t always be this way. The Clippers are an aging team and the way that the wear and tear of their hard-nosed style will eventually break them down. However, we’re talking about over the next few years. On this night, the Clippers are in prime position to dismantle their crosstown rivals.
