Clippers at Cavaliers Preview

Clippers ( 33-16) @ Cavaliers (30-20)

Coming off two days rest, the surging Cavaliers finish off their two game home stand tonight when they face the Los Angeles Clippers. Coming into this game, the Cavaliers have won their last 11 games, and now share 1st place tie in the Central Division with the Chicago Bulls. The Clippers arrive in Cleveland with one of the best passers in the game, and the best rebounder in the league this year. PF PF DeAndre Jordan comes into the contest averaging a league-best 13.6 rebounds a game, while PG Chris Paul comes into Thursday’s game averaging 9.6 assists a game, 3rd best in the league. The last time the Cavaliers took on the Clippers was at the Staple Center in Los Angeles, a game in which the Cavaliers came back and won due to a 34-point 4th quarter. In the 11 game winning streak that the Cavaliers are on, the 2nd win was against the Clippers on January 16.

Here are some things you need to know before watching:

Los Angeles at Cleveland Cavaliers- Quicken Loans Arena

Game start 8:00 P.M. EST. Cavs TV- Fox Sports Ohio. Clippers TV- Fox Sports West. National TV- TNT

Projected Starting Lineups

Cavaliers:

PG: Kyrie Irving: 21.9 PPG, 5.2 APG, 3.2 RPG, 46.7 % FG

SG: J.R. Smith: 11.8 PPG, 3.0 APG, 2.6 RPG, 40.5 % FG

SF: LeBron James: 26.2 PPG, 7.3 APG, 5.5 RPG, 49.1 % FG

PF: Kevin Love: 16.9 PPG, 2.3 APG, 10.4 RPG, 42.4 % FG

C: Timofey Mozgov: 8.9 PPG, 0.4 APG, 8.0 RPG, 51.5 % FG

Clippers:

PG: Chris Paul: 17.7 PPG, 9.6 APG, 4.8 RPG, 47.5 % FG

SG: Jamal Crawford: 15.7 PPG, 2.6 APG, 2.1 RPG, 39.2 % FG

SF: Matt Barnes: 9.7 PPG, 1.4 APG, 3.6 RPG, 46.2 % FG

PF: Blake Griffin: 22.6 PPG, 5.1 APG, 7.6 RPG, 50.1 % FG

C: DeAndre Jordan: 10.4 PPG, 0.6 APG, 13.6 RPG, 73.2 % FG

Matchup to watch for:

This matchup includes two of the best point guards in The Association. Chris Paul and Kyrie Irving are both coming into this game on a high note. Although both players flash their point guard skills in different ways, both should contribute immensely to their teams tonight. Irving has vastly developed his leadership skills this year, which were criticized this off-season. Chris Paul has forever been consistent, and is leading the Clippers this season to the 5th seed in a very competitive Western Conference. Paul will look to get PF BlakeGriffin going and feed DeAndre Jordan in the post. Irving will look to get himself going and others on the team throughout the game. Irving was named player of the week last week.

Injuries

Cavaliers: