Chris Paul is a point god. The Clippers guard went all God mode on the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 to give Los Angeles an early series lead. Paul did get a lot of help from Blake Griffin and Jamal Crawford, while the Spurs’ well-oiled offensive machine stuttered to a halt.
The Spurs will have a couple of days to make some much-needed adjustments on offense and defense, or risk returning home down a sizable hole. Read on below as we preview Game 2 of this star-studded series.
Check out Wednesday’s other Game 2 matchups with our previews of the Nets vs. Hawks and Blazers vs. Grizzlies.
[sc:NBAArticles ]San Antonio Spurs vs. Los Angeles Clippers Game 2 Preview
Game 1: San Antonio 92 at Los Angeles 107
Game 2: San Antonio at Los Angeles, Wednesday April 22, 10:30 p.m. – view all NBA lines
Game 3: Los Angeles at San Antonio, Friday April 24, 9:30 p.m.
Game 4: Los Angeles at San Antonio, Sunday April 26, 3:30
Game 5 (if necessary): San Antonio at Los Angeles, Tuesday April 28 TBD
Game 6 (if necessary): Los Angeles at San Antonio, Thursday April 30 TBD
Game 7 (if necessary): San Antonio at Los Angeles, Saturday May 2 TBD
Betting on the San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs were sent back down to earth in a big way as they were humbled, 107-92, by the Clippers in Game 1. After going 14-2 and having one of the best offenses and the best defense in the league in their last 16 regular season games, the Spurs had their worst performance since their shock 104-100 loss to the Knicks on March 17.
[sc:NBA240banner ]Kawhi Leonard (18 points on 7-of-12 FGs, six rebounds, four steals) aside, hardly any other Spur had an above average Game 1. Danny Green went 2-of-11. Tony Parker went 4-of-11. The bench mob of Boris Diaw, Manu Ginobili and Aron Baynes went a combined 7-of-29. The Spurs as a team shot 36 percent from the field, 30 percent from three and 54 percent from the line.
It’s almost unfathomable to think the Spurs and their highly efficient offense can be quite as bad in two straight games, although they will be concerned about the effectiveness of Parker after he sprained his ankle in the first half of Game 1.
But the Spurs will be a little more concerned about their issues defensively. Putting Leonard on Chris Paul hardly slowed the Clippers point guard down, while neither Diaw nor Baynes was able to handle Blake Griffin. Baynes, in particular, will have nightmares after getting repeatedly posterized by Griffin.
Tiago Splitter started Game 1 despite a calf injury that forced him to miss the last six games, but played just 10 minutes. The Spurs could be in some trouble in this series if he’s not going to be able to play and at least slow Griffin down.
Underestimate the defending champs at your own risk, though. The Spurs also lost their opening games in 2003, 2005 and 2007 and wound up winning the championship in all those years.
Betting on the Los Angeles Clippers
Despite ending the regular season on an eight-game winning streak (5-3 against the spread), hardly any experts picked the Clippers to win their first-round series against the Spurs. But they made quite a statement with their 15-point Game 1 win, their third straight win against San Antonio.
The Clippers’ league-best offense (109.8 points per 100 possessions) lived up to its billing by shooting 51 percent from the field and 55 percent from three against the Spurs’ very stingy defense.
Chris Paul, who’s averaging 22 points and 11 assists post-All-Star break, continued his MVP-caliber play as he led the Clippers with 32 points, seven rebounds and six assists despite having one of the league’s best one-on-one defenders guarding him. Blake Griffin was almost equally as impressive with a stuffed stat line of 26 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, three blocks, three steals and a couple of highlight-reel dunks on poor Aron Baynes.
JJ Redick had a bad shooting night (10 points on 4-of-13 FGs) but Jamal Crawford picked up the slack with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting off the bench. DeAndre Jordan did his thing with 14 rebounds and four blocks.
The Clippers will basically go as far as those five players (plus Matt Barnes) take them, and they can go pretty far with Paul playing like he is. The other non-Crawford reserves played just 31 total minutes as head coach Doc Rivers rode his starters hard. Those heavy minutes will likely be an issue in the latter stages of the series, but fatigue won’t be much of a concern for the Clips in Game 2, with two days in between games.
Writer’s Prediction
The Spurs up their play, but Paul has another epic performance as the Clippers take Game 2, 109-102. Create a betting account now and raise your game with all the excellent NBA playoff games on tap.
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