Following an ugly-but-still necessary win over the scrappy Timberwolves on Monday night at STAPLES Center, the Clippers head out on the road to take on the Oklahoma City Westbrooks on Wednesday night. OKC has announced that Kevin Durant will miss the game with his foot injury, which means the Clippers need to prep themselves for a whole lotta Westbrook.
L.A., though, has plenty of injury concerns themselves. They'll already be without Blake Griffin, who missed his first game with the staph infection in his elbow the last time these two teams met last month. The Thunder won that game easily as the Clippers never looked into it after just having learned of Griffin's fate that morning.
Chris Paul is also nursing a sore knee and he's officially a game-time decision to play tonight. He was clearly not right on Monday, as he shot just 1-6 from the floor. However, he did tally 15 assists. Paul having to deal with Westbrook while limping around has nightmarish potential for the Clippers, of course. Jamal Crawford is already out, as well.
Since Durant has been out, OKC has won six of nine games, due in most part to Westbrook's explosion. The Los Angeles native is averaging an incredible 37 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists over his last six games, in which five he finished with a triple-double.
If Paul were to sit, we can assume that Austin Rivers would draw the start at point guard. Rivers has been playing better of late, and finished with 13 points, six assists and four rebounds against the Wolves in the last game.
Every game is obviously important, but the games mean more for the Thunder than for the Clippers right now. OKC has a fight on its hands as it continues to battle for a playoff spot. As of today, the Thunder hold the final spot in the West's top eight, though they're just percentage points ahead of the Pelicans. New Orleans has one more win, while the Thunder have one fewer defeat.
The Clips are 8-5 themselves without Griffin, who hopes to be back for Sunday's tilt with the Rockets in Los Angeles. That game will be a big one, as the Clippers, Rockets and Trail Blazers are all fighting to try and secure the No. 3 seed in the conference. Today, the Clippers are in fifth, though just 2.5 games back of third-seeded Houston.
So far this year, the Clippers and Thunder have split their two meetings.
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