Los Angeles Clippers vs. New Jersey Nets - Game Preview
The Los Angeles Clippers host the New Jersey Nets on Monday, 15 November, 2010 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, looking to snap a five-game losing streak. The game is a matchup of two struggling teams, with the Clippers at 1-9 and the Nets at 3-6 for the season. The Clippers have the advantage of being the home team, and this Nets team has not fared as well on the road. The Nets had very close defeats in the previous matches. Three of the Nets' last five defeats have been by two points or fewer.
Preview
The Clippers have been unfortunate to have played some of the Western Conference power houses in their first nine games, of which they have lost eight. They then played the struggling Pistons at the Staples Centre but still lost in overtime. Now they are hosting the New Jersey Nets, who had the worst record in the National Basketball Association (NBA) last season.
New Jersey beat the Cleveland Cavaliers last Wednesday, 95-87, to snap a 12-game road-losing streak dating back to last season. The Nets then lost their next game against Orlando Magic at Prudential Center by a single point, 91-90.
The Nets are 1-2 on the road this season, and were 4-37 away from home last year. New Jersey, in addition to their 12-game road streak, has also had road losing streaks of 15 and 18 games dating back to March 2009.
The Clippers have beaten the Nets six straight times in Los Angeles, with their last loss coming in 2003. The Clippers are 24-13 against the Nets all-time in Los Angeles.
Area to watch
One area to watch tonight will be three-point shooting. The Nets are fifth the NBA in shooting from beyond the arc, at 39.2 percent. While the Clippers have allowed their opponents to shoot 41.9 percent points from the three-point range, which is the second worst record in the league.
The Clippers are shooting just 29.3 percent from beyond the arc this season, also the second worst record in the NBA, including an astonishing six for 40 from Eric Gordon, who shot 38 percent on three-pointers last season. Gordon leads the Clippers, averaging 22 points per game this season.
Players to watch
Both of the teams are confident of the performance of their top scorers in their previous matches. The Clippers will look towards Gordon while the Nets will look to Devin Harris to repeat his past performances.
Gordon scored 28 points and 5 assists for the Clippers in the previous match against the Pistons. In his first game back, since missing his last two games with a bruised left shoulder, Gordon went 9-for-20 from the field for a team-high 28 points – his fifth straight game with 20-plus points. At one point in the fourth quarter, Gordon scored 15 of the team's 17 points.
For the Nets, Devin Harris scored 26 points, eight assists, and six rebounds in their last game against the Magic. Brook Lopez added 23 points and Travis Outlaw score 20 points.
Injuries
The Clippers will once again be without Baron Davis and Chris Kaman. While Randy Foye will be absent due to Hamstring injury.
T Williams will miss the game for the Nets due to an abdominal strain.
Endnotes
Opening a four-game road trip, New Jersey will try to snap a six-game road skid at the Clippers. The Nets have not beaten a Western Conference team since defeating Memphis last year.
The Nets can also send Los Angeles to their worst start since the Franchise opened 0-17 in 1998-99, which tied the then NBA record. New Jersey broke that mark last season when they started with a league-record 18 defeats.
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