Defending Lob City

No surprise here - the duo of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin is the engine that makes these Clippers run. Despite CP3’s recent nine-game absence with a knee injury, the pair has still logged more floor time together than any other two-man combo on the team. The Clips outscore opponents by 9 points per 100 possessions with the two of them playing together. The next best pair in that stat has played over 400 minutes less than Paul and Griffin.

A key to slowing Griffin down will be keeping him off the offensive glass. Surprisingly, Blake’s offensive rebounding percentage has dropped off big time this season - down to 7.5 percent after being over 10 in his first two years. Still, he’s dangerous as a trailer in transition, where he can throw down some monster putbacks after hanging behind the play. The already-ravaged Sixers really don’t need that kind of devastation dropped on them.

Lavoy Allen was a beast on the boards against Charlotte, pulling down 22 boards and grabbed over 25 percent of rebounds when he was on the floor. The Sixers will need that kind of performance against the athletic front line of Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.

Odds and Ends

Jeremy Pargo, who set his career high in points against the Sixers earlier this season when he dropped 28 as a member of the Cavaliers, was signed to a 10-day contract on Feb. 7. He made his Sixers debut on Friday, and it was a good one.

Against Charlotte, Pargo was super efficient in his time coming off the bench. In nearly 30 minutes, he posted a 50.0 effective field goal percentage to go along with a 131 offensive rating for his 12 points. He also served as a playmaker, assisting on over 30 percent of the field goals made while he was on the court and notching 6 dimes.

Who knows if Pargo will stick with the Sixers for the rest of the season; they’ve already let Maalik Wayns and Shelvin Mack come and go for the position. Pargo looks like he can spell Jrue Holiday without the offense going off rails, something the Sixers badly need.