Los Angeles Clippers desperate to make a comeback against San Antonio Spurs in Game 3 – NBA Preview
On Saturday, the San Antonio Spurs move to Los Angeles to play game 3 of their Eastern Conference Semi Final series against the Clippers. The Spurs have thoroughly dominated the Clippers in the first two games, winning both by
double digit points. They are the hottest team in the NBA at the moment, having won all six games of the playoffs so far, and 27 of their last 29.
No other team is dominating the league like they are at the moment and seem poised to win the championship this year.
In their path lies a young Clippers team that has had a turnaround season and done well to get this far. However, they do not seem to have the answers for the Spurs. The Clippers were blown away in the first two games, and need
to win this one otherwise they will fall behind 3-0, and no team in NBA history has come back from a 3-0 deficit to win the series.
"The next game is our Game 7. We got to fight, we got to claw, we got to do whatever we can” said Clippers head coach Vinny Del Negro.
The Clippers need to do so much to stop the Spurs offensive barrage. They need to defend their perimeter well as the Spurs have scored 23 three pointers in the first two games. They need to defend Tim Duncan, who has been having
a treat low in the post with 44 points so far in the series.
And if they manage to do that, then they have to turn their attention towards controlling Tony Parker, who is one of the best point guards in the league and specializes in breaking down the defense, drawing opponents to spread
the floor and penetrating into the lane. He had 22 points in game 2.
On the other hand, the Clippers star players Chris Paul and Blake Griffin haven’t found their rhythm so far in the series. Paul has had 16 points, 15 assists and 13 turnovers in the first two games and Griffin has managed 35 points
and 10 rebounds so far this series. Both players are struggling with injuries, Paul with a strained right hip and Griffin with a sprained right knee. The injury has left both handicapped and their numbers show that the injuries are affecting their performance.
"It's one of those nagging things. Just kind of put that to the list of everything that we have right now. We just got to find a way to play through them and find a way to counteract them” said Griffin regarding his injury.
The Clippers will give all they have in game 3 in front of their home crowd. They know that if they want to maintain a realistic chance of progressing, they need to win game 3.
"We know Game 3 is going to be very, very hard. We should focus on that and not focus on the winning streak or what we're doing good. We know Saturday is going to be a long, long, long game. Very physical” said Parker
The Spurs have so far made the weaknesses of the Clippers very visible and have had their way with them in the series. The Clippers, battling with injuries, have not been at their best. In game 3, their stars will need to step
up and shine if they want to stop the Spurs relentless offense.
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