NBA

Los Angeles Clippers Stat Monkey Brief: Clippers/Bucks (3/6/13)

Yulian Fedulov Mar 6th, 2013
The Clippers may be 8-2 in their last ten games, but those two losses came against the two teams ahead of them in the West.

Lob City Highlight of the Night

Things I miss about the states are normal Red Bulls, Slim Jims, and plays like this one:

Looking Back

The Clippers are at a solid 8-2 mark in their last 10 games. Unfortunately, the two losses were against the two teams ahead of them in the West. The real concerning thing is that the Clippers got blown out by 26 by the Spurs and were down 19 against the Thunder, both occurring on their home court. With it so late in the season when teams are supposed to be playing their best, the Clippers are faltering against the two teams they are most likely going to need to beat to make it to the Finals.

The game as a whole was actually played pretty evenly. The effective field goal percentage (eFG%) for both teams was 51 percent, and the biggest point advantage in any quarter was seven. The Clippers actually went up one with about a minute left on an incredible seven-point sequence that involved a ball tap and two huge threes. The Clippers just could not stop Kevin Durant down the stretch and close out the game.

On a personal side note, I think a ball tap should carry an automatic two game suspension. I am submitting this to the Sports Tsar; let’s get this done.

Quick Look Ahead

The Clippers take on the 30-28 Bucks, who are pretty much locked into the eighth seed in the East. The Bucks are on a four game winning streak, which includes two overtime victories, and are ranked ninth in league in defensive efficiency. On the other end of the floor, however, they rank 22nd in offensive efficiency and are scoring just 103.2 points per 100 possessions.

The Clippers have already beaten the Bucks once this season by 26 points back in December when they were steam rolling pretty much every opponent. The story of that game was the Clippers’ defense, which held the Bucks to 36.1 percent shooting from the field. My expectation is that the Clippers will take out their frustration and dominate the Bucks on both ends of the floor again.

Now if I can only find a sports bar that shows normal sports instead of racing and bad baseball… I may be asking for too much.