Facing two Los Angeles teams in two days, the Minnesota Timberwolves will look to finish their road trip with a win tonight against LA’s better team, the Clippers.
Kevin Love has led his team to an impressive 5-2 record thus far while most would say the Clippers are under-performing at 4-3.
Defense has been the issue so far this season.
The Clippers give up 106.3 points per game, the fourth highest in the league. Doc Rivers is trying to implement his defensive system as the season goes but don’t expect it to happen tonight. Love has been playing like an MVP candidate with averages of 26.9 points, 14.4 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. Last night against the Lakers, Minnesota tallied the highest scoring quarter in franchise history with 47 points in the first quarter.
Not a good sign if you’re Blake Griffin.
Griffin and Love are two of the best power forwards in the league today. They are both young, talented superstars on max contracts, but their play on the court could not be more different. As we all know, Griffin makes the headlines with his towering dunks and mind-boggling alley-oops. He stars in surprisingly hilarious commercials and plays in the second largest market in the NBA.
Kevin Love is everything else.
No knock on Griffin, but Love can create his own shot, has an array of post moves and is a three-point marksmen. He has already made a game-winning shot this season and can clearly be trusted with the ball in his hands late in games. With no Chris Paul-like figure on his team, it’s up to Love to lead his small market team into the playoffs this year.
Tonight will surely be a battle of the big men, but look for Chris Paul and Ricky Rubio to also go head-to-head, filling up the stat sheets as well as the highlight reel. Both are willing and creative passers who like to probe into the paint to set up their big men. Paul certainly has the edge over Rubio and will look to dominate him on the offensive end. Paul will be trying for his eighth straight double-double, while Rubio is coming off a triple-double last night against the Lakers.
Tonight’s game is filled with superstars, great match ups and should make for an exciting game in Los Angeles.
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