Game #24 Preview: Clippers at Cavaliers

Lob City comes to Cleveland tonight. Chris Paul and Blake Griffin lead the new-look Clippers into Quicken Loans Arena to take on our beloved Cleveland Cavaliers. Quick thought: Has a team ever faced more athletic teams two nights in a row? Miami and now LAC tonight? I doubt it. The Cavs will have their conditioning tested on this fine evening.

Song Of The Day: Bump and Grind - R. Kelly

Tonight's Overview:

Los Angeles Clippers (15-7) at Cleveland Cavaliers (9-14)

Hey, you guys want to see hilarious? Watch Antawn Jamison try to defend Blake Grif-- OH MY GOD THERE'S SO MUCH BLOOD.

Hopefully Luke Harangody doesn't play at all tonight. Also, it should be fun to see Ryan Hollins trying to play in the same front court as DeAndre Jordan. Below is a GIF representation of how what I picture when I think of Harangody and Hollins playing basketball.

via gifs.gifbin.com

We all know that Kyrie Irving is not a great defender yet (although he has the tools and intelligence to be one), which means that Chris Paul should have a typical Chris Paul type of day. CP3 is the only one currently in the league worthy of the "Point God" moniker. When Kyrie looks at Paul, I hope he sees himself two or three years from now. I am convinced that in a couple of seasons, Irving is fully capable of taking over the title of best point guard in the league and perhaps he can pick up a few things from Paul tonight.

Byron Scott was CP3's head coach in New Orleans when he won Rookie of the Year, and Paul vouched for Scott's coaching.

"Coach Scott led me to Rookie of the Year and it looks like he's about to do it again. ...There couldn't be a better situation for [Kyrie] than starting off his NBA career playing for Coach Scott..."

(Quote courtesy of @PDCavsInsider)

Mo Williams returns home (kinda) to Cleveland tonight. He was/is one of my favorite players in the league and just seems like a class act. I mentioned in my recap of last night's game that I kind of missed J.J. Hickson. I really do actually miss Mo Williams and he could definitely provide some nice scoring off of the bench. Granted, we wouldn't have Kyrie if we still had Mo, so that's a trade I'll take 2942348234 times out of 100. Hickson and Mo combined to create one of the best moments of the 2010-11 season when the Cavaliers beat the Clippers to end the 26-game losing streak. Fred and AC absolutely lost their shit during this sequence.

Key Matchup:

My ability to contain anger vs. Watching Luke Harangody and Ryan Hollins

This speaks for itself, really. I cannot stand watching these guys play. It looks like they have no idea what they are doing or that they truly hate winning. Ryan Hollins sets his screens like he's a freaking ninja and gets called for an offensive foul approximately 87% of the time. If my head doesn't explode, then I think I win this matchup.

Fear The Sword's Fearless Prediction:

This is not going to be pretty. I'm not usually negative (?) about the Cavs chances, but I really don't see it tonight. Second night of a back to back and the Clippers are just really talented and athletic. If LAC gets the chance to play at the pace they want, it will be Lob City. If they play at a slowed down pace, Chris Paul will shred our defense. Don't think this one is very pretty, other than some crazy dunks by Griffin and Jordan. Clippers win by a score of 108-96.