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The Cleveland Cavaliers got back to .500 last night with a hard-fought win over the Los Angeles Lakers. With Kevin Love noticeably battling back spasms, the Cavs started slow but buckled down defensively and ultimately won 109-102.
Tonight, the Cavs take on the Clippers, currently the sixth seed in the Western Conference. Overall, the Clippers have won seven of 10 and, like the Cavs, have been looking to make some roster changes of late. The Clippers waived point guard Jordan Farmar today to make room for guard Austin Rivers, son of coach and president Jordan Farmar and also dealt Reggie Bullock to the Suns.
Who: Cleveland Cavaliers at Los Angeles Clippers
When: 10:30 p.m.
Where: Staples Center - Los Angeles California
Television: ESPN and Fox Sports Time Ohio
Music: To Live and Die in L.A. - Tupac Shakur
The Clippers are with in the league in scoring and are a relatively balanced team. Los Angeles has four players scoring over 10 points a game and DeAndre Jordan averages just below 10 a game. This perhaps even more impressive when you consider that depending on the lineup, teams don't have to defend Matt Barnes from deep and Spencer Hawes is only averaging 5.9 points per game.
The Clippers are especially a tough test for the Cavs due to their inside presence. Blake Griffin, of course, is one of the best power forwards in the NBA and Jordan, while limited, is a powerful finisher inside. If Kevin Love plays, he, Tristan Thompson and Timofey Mozgov are going to have their hands full against the Clippers front court. Their prowess grows more so when you consider Chris Paul is excellent and getting inside and creating for himself and others.
Fear The Sword's Fearless Prediction
The Cavaliers have some elements that can make them competitive against this Clippers team. If the Cavaliers can stay disciplined on defense, they could get funky and perhaps use LeBron James on Chris Paul at times. But the Clips do have a huge size advantage inside with Griffin and Jordan. Clippers 103, Cavs 97.