Should be an interesting game tonight at the Staples Center with OKC taking on the Clippers. LA is 16-12 and the current No. 4 seed in the West. Clippers come in with a two game losing streak having lost their last two games against the Spurs and Rockets.
Clippers are much like the Thunder in that they really haven’t clicked and met the expectations some were predicting from them before the start of the season as far as overall level of play.
Josh Smith, Lance Stephenson, Paul Pierce, Wesley Johnson and Luc M’boh a Moute have been added to a rotation which was already solid. The Clipper core of Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, JJ Reddick, Jamal Crawford, Deandre Jordan, and Austin Rivers remains intact.
Clippers much like the Thunder in that they are a franchise which for various reasons has yet to reach its potential the past three seasons and get to an NBA Finals. Clippers eliminated the Spurs in the first round last spring, then blew a 3-1 series lead over the Rockets in the conference semi-finals.
The Clipper roster additions are supposed to make the team a more hardened, tougher group. To date–still a work in progress.
Same could be said for the Thunder as well with first year coach Billy Donovan and his team.
Thunder enter at 18-9 as the No. 3 seed and pretty much a team still looking for answers as far to elevating their play to be mentioned with Golden State, Cleveland, and San Antonio as legitimate championship contenders.
Two teams which hate one another with the Ibaka-Blake Griffin rivalry always seeming to get heated in these games.
Should be a good game which indicates whether the Thunder are primed to begin an elevation of their play or fall back into the mix with LA, Houston, Dallas and Memphis in the West.