Game Preview: San Antonio Spurs @ Los Angeles Clippers

San Antonio Spurs @ Los Angeles Clippers

Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
November 10, 9:30 PM Spurs Time
TV: FSSW, RADIO: 1200 AM WOAI

The San Antonio Spurs are set to take on the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night in LA. The Spurs are coming off of a tough 100-99 loss against the Pelicans on Saturday night. They will try to get the win wihout Tiago Splitter, Patty Mills, and Marco Belinelli; who are out with injuries.

San Antonio has struggled so far this season, as they have a 2-3 record through the first couple weeks. Their struggles can mainly be attributed to the injuries of Tiago Splitter, Patty Mills, and the eye infection that Kawhi Leonard dealt with leading up to the season. Splitter is still out with problems in his back and in his calf, and will be seeing a specialist while the Spurs are in Los Angeles to try and figure out the problem.

Splitter's absence has hurt the Spurs' interior defense, leaving only Jeff Ayres to anchor the back-line when Tim Duncan is out. Opponents have been able to take advantage of this, and the Clippers' uber-athletic front-line will be sure to make their presence known at the rim.

The Clippers are 4-2 so far this year. They've gotten off to a good start doing what they usually do. They run a ton of pick-and-roll, and will let Chris Paul dictate the offensive flow. If the defense takes away Paul as a scoring option, he'll just pass off to a big, who can then either make a play at the rim or kick to a shooter. If the defense concentrates on the big, Paul can find the soft spot in the defense for a midrange jumper.

In addition to Paul's offensive excellence, Blake Griffin looks like a top-5 player in the league. He's averaging 24.5 points per game on .466 shooting from the field. He's also averaging 6.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, and has been solid defensively.

The Spurs will have to be extremely active on defense to keep Paul and Griffin down from their averages. They'll have to communicate better than they have as a team, and post players will have to step up to protect the paint. Players like Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard will also have to get back quickly in transition defense to prevent an onslaught on the rim that only a team with the nickname "Lob City" can provide.

	@
Los Angeles Clippers (4-2)		San Antonio Spurs (2-3)
November 10, 2014
Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
9:30 PM CDT
TV: FSSW Radio: WOAI 1200AM
Starters
Chris Paul	PG	Tony Parker
Jamal Crawford	SG	Danny Green
J.J. Redick	SF	Kawhi Leonard
Blake Griffin	PF	Boris Diaw
DeAndre Jordan	C	Tim Duncan

For the Clippers' perspective, visit Clips Nation.

As always Tony must dominate Fisher, and you can get your San Antonio Spurs tickets from Daniel Farias with Spurs Sports & Entertainment: Tel: 210-444-5607 | dfarias@attcenter.com