Los Angeles Clippers Stat Monkey Brief: Clippers/Nuggets (3/7/13)

Lob City Highlight of the Night

Dunk of the year…

Looking Back

With both the Clippers and Bucks going over 100 points and with effective field goal percentages over 55 percent, neither team really wanted to play defense last night. That's odd, since they are both ranked in the top 10 in defensive rating. But with all the high flying dunks and great shots from both teams, I don’t think the fans were complaining. The real hero of the game was Blake Griffin, who recorded his first triple double of the season and won next year’s dunk contest.

Quick Look Ahead

Tonight, the Clippers travel to Denver for the rubber match with the 40-22 Nuggets, who ended that historic winning streak back on January 1. The Nuggets rank fifth in offensive efficiency and are doing it by sharing the ball. None of their players average more than 17 points a game, and they have six players that average in double digits. Denver isn’t exactly the Spurs or the Thunder, but they are a playoff team that is on a six game winning streak, which includes a win over the Thunder.

The Clippers’ defense is the worst in games played with no days off, giving up 98.8 points per game. So the thing to watch for is going to be how their defense handles the thin air and Denver’s offence. The Clippers do need to establish that they can beat solid playoff teams and avoid this game being similar to their recent two losses.