LA Clippers/Minnesota NBA Prediction Friday
The Los Angeles Clippers have siphoned some celebrity attention off their crosstown rivals for the first time in years, partnering Chris Paul with Blake Griffin. The Minnesota Timberwolves are trying to rise from the depths with a young point guard in Ricky Rubio playing alongside Kevin Love.
Are these teams mirror images? The jury is still out, but certainly two of the best young point guard-power forward combos in the league will face off for the first time Friday night when the T-wolves visit the Clippers in the Staples Center. The latest NBA odds show the Clippers favored by 5 points, while the total has been set for 190.5 points.
Minnesota Timberwolves @ Los Angeles Clippers, 10:30 p.m. ET
The Wolves started 0-3 this season, but have won two straight and three of the last four games after a 93-85 win over Detroit Wednesday night at home, paced by Love’s 20 points and 17 rebounds along with Rubio’s eight assists. Under the up-tempo offensive tutelage of head coach Rick Adelman, Love and Rubio have combined for 35.9 points, 19.1 rebounds and 10.1 assists per contest for a team that ranks a respectable 11th in scoring offense. This is also one of the youngest teams in the league, with just two players listing 30 or older and nine 25 or younger.
The Clippers have also been in favor of an up-tempo attack with Paul and Griffin leading the way. The Clips won their seventh straight home game Wednesday night with a last-second 91-89 win over Dallas – their seventh win in nine games after a 1-2 start. Griffin had 14 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists to lead the way while Paul sat out with a hamstring injury. Chauncey Billups had 21 points and the game-winning 3-pointer. When together, Griffin and Paul have combined for 39.3 points, 14.8 rebounds and 11.4 assists per contest to compare favorably with Love and Rubio, leading an offense that ranks 10th in scoring.
The offensive pace should be high and entertaining for the national-TV crowd to see four of the top young players in the league go toe-to-toe. While Love and Rubio has generated a lot of buzz around Minnesota and the Wolves are clearly more competitive, the Clips have been very tough at home and will be looking forward to enhancing their legitimacy in front of a national audience. L.A. has had generally a tougher schedule early on, which has tested this team and it should help them get over the hump in this matchup – but this game should be one of the higher-scoring contests of the week.
Final Score Prediction: Clippers 110, Timberwolves 95
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