LA Clippers Preview

Tonight the Blazers are in the city of angels to take on the Los Angeles Clippers! It'll be a night of reunions as Portland will take on ex-Blazers Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw for the first time since they were traded.  Marcus Camby, center, will also be taking on his old team for the first time in a Blazers uniform.

•  Portland has won five of the past six games and eight of the last 10 against the L.A. Clippers, including three straight wins at the Rose Garden. The Trail Blazers had beaten the Clippers in Los Angeles in four consecutive meetings before the Clippers earned a 105-95 victory the last time the teams met in Los Angeles on Jan. 4.

•  The Trail Blazers lead this season’s series, 2-1, with the home team winning each game. Both teams have shot better than 50.0% from the floor (Portland, 50.2%; L.A. Clippers, 51.6%). Martell Webster leads all players in the series with 22.7 points in three contests, including a career-high tying 28 points (9-13 FG, 7-11 3-PT) Feb. 16 in Portland.
•  In the first three games of the series, Portland has accumulated a 28-18 advantage in steals, turning the ball over 38 times while forcing 52 Clippers turnovers.
•  The Trail Blazers bested the Clippers, 3-1, in the 2008-09 series, Portland’s second straight series win over the Clippers and 18th since they moved to Los Angeles in 1984-85.
•  In four contests last season, the Trail Blazers outscored the Clippers, 107.0-91.8, and shot 48.7% from the floor while holding Los Angeles to 41.8% shooting.
•  The Trail Blazers acquired Marcus Camby from the L.A. Clippers in exchange for Steve Blake, Travis Outlaw and cash considerations on Feb. 16. Camby averaged 8.0 points, 13.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.00 blocks against Portland in two meetings before the trade. In 269 games as a Trail Blazer, Blake averaged 8.9 points and 4.7 assists, while Outlaw posted averages of 9.6 points and 3.4 rebounds in 377 games with Portland.
•  Andre Miller played with the L.A. Clippers in 2002-03, averaging 13.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.24 steals in 80 contests.
•  Clippers forward/center Brian Skinner played 27 games for Portland in 2005-06, averaging 3.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 19.1 minutes.

The Clippers have lost 5 straight and 15 of their last 17 games. Whereas the Blazers are coming in fresh off a win in Sacramento on Saturday. Keeping momentum will be the kicker of this game. The Blazers tend to play down/up to the level of whoever their playing and if they give the Clippers any shred of hope tonight they can kiss a W goodbye. Since the trade deadline the Clippers have had some big wins and with Kaman, Gordon and Blakey holding them down they are definitely capable of coming out strong. I think with the looming threat of playoff positioning in mind though, B Roy won't let Portland come out with anything less than a win.

It'll be interesting to see how things play out with Steve Blake and Travis Outlaw though, (I have heard from a reputable source that Outlaw might now be playing tonight, which is fine with me. It'll hurt to see him suit up against us) seeing as to how close they were with all members of this team (sans Marcus Camby and Travis Diener of course).  Hopefully we come and strong and have a big win tonight!

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I know it's been awhile, and instead of clogging up the page with a bunch of re-caps I'll just recommend that you check out the sites linked in the sidebar for some excellent analysis and post/pre game articles!