The Golden State Warriors (16-13) will host the Los Angeles Clippers (20-9) at Oracle Arena in the Bay Area Christmas Day. These two teams have a bit of history on Christmas Day; the Clippers blew out the Warriors on Christmas Day back in 2011 105-86. So, look for the Warriors to take revenge. On Christmas Day, the Warriors are 9-13, while the Clippers are 4-7.
It is with 100% certainty that this game will be significantly closer than the 2011 matchup. The Clippers, although without J.J. Redick, have arguably one of the best point guards and power forwards in the league in Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. Look for the Clippers to start former sixth man of the year Jamal Crawford at the SG position. The Warriors have the best shooting combo in the league in Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, better know as the “Splash Brothers,” as well as the double-double machine David Lee.
This game contains some of the best head-to-head match ups we will see on Christmas Day. At the one-guard, the steady Chris Paul and the prolific Stephen Curry will face off (19.2pts and 23.9pts respectively). At the two-guard, two of the purest shooters in the NBA in Jamal Crawford and Klay Thompson will square off. The SF position features Jared Dudley and Andre Iguodala, two players who do a little bit of everything. At the PF position, we will see two all-stars battle in the paint – Blake Griffin and David Lee. At the C position, two of the most underrated big men in DeAndre Jordan and Andrew Bogut will look to anchor each team’s defense.
According to ESPN, the line for this game is GSW -2.5. Look for two high powered offenses to battle it out in a relatively high scoring game.
Clippers win 115-108
