Round 2 of the NBA Playoffs continues on Thursday night and we will see the Oklahoma City Thunder travel to the Staples Center to take on the Los Angeles Clippers in game 6 of their best-of seven series. The game has a start time of 10:30 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on ESPN. Vegas odds have the Clippers listed as 4.5 point favorites, while the total sits at 212.5.
Stat Packs: After getting crushed at home in game 1 of this series, the Oklahoma City Thunder then reeled off two straight wins and had a 16 point lead late in game 4, but then a collapse happened at the end of the game and they saw the series tied up at 2 games apiece. The Thunder then made a miraculous comeback of the own in game 5, which was aided by a blown call, and now head to the Staples Center with a 3 games to 2 lead. Oklahoma City has been solid offensively in the playoffs, averaging 104.5 ppg on 45.3% shooting. In the post-season Kevin Durant has led the offense with an average of 30.8 ppg, while Russell Westbrook is second, at 27.3 ppg. Serge Ibaka (12.8 ppg) and Reggie Jackson (10.4 ppg) round out the double digit scorers on the team. Durant leads the team rebounding (9.0), while Westbrook leads them in assists (8.1) and Serge Ibaka has collected 2.3 blocks per game. Defensively the Thunder allowed just 99.8 ppg on 43.6% shooting during the regular season and in the playoffs they have allowed 101.4 ppg on 43.4% shooting.
The LA Clippers took game 1 of this series and then lost the next two, but were able to make a huge comeback in game 4 to even the series at 2 games apiece. They the returned the favor in blowing a lead late in game 5 and they now find themselves in a 3-2 hole as the series shifts back to the Staples Center. Offensively they came into the playoffs as the top scoring team in the league and they are the top scoring remaining team in the post season, averaging 109.7 ppg, while shooting 46.5% from the field. In the playoffs, Blake Griffin leads the offense with 23.7 ppg, while Chris Paul (19.3 ppg), Jamal Crawford (16.5 ppg) and JJ Reddick (13.1 ppg) also average in double figures for the Clippers. DeAndre Jordan leads the team in rebounding (12.3 rpg), while Chris Paul has led them in assists at 10.3 apg. Defensively the Clippers have allowed 101.4 ppg on 44.3% shooting for the year overall but in the playoffs it has not been good for them, as they have allowed 107. ppg on 46.8% shooting.
Pick: Yes I will be going with the Clippers in this one. They are the better team here and with what happened on Monday night I expect them to fully come out and put a hurtin on the Thunder in this one. The Clippers made a huge comeback in game 4 and then led pretty much wire to wire in game 6 before a meltdown and a bad call by the ref cost them the game. THat should have them fired up for this game in front of their home crowd. The Clippers have too much offense and the Thunder don't play defense well on the road. I look for at least an 8-12 point win by the Thunder in this one.
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