The Los Angeles Clippers look to snap a five-game losing streak Monday night, and they have a winnable game against the New Jersey Nets at Staples Center. The game is a matchup of two struggling squads, with the Clippers at 1-9 and the Nets at 3-6. The saving grace for the Clippers is that they are the home team, and this Nets team hasn't fared as well on the road.
New Jersey beat the Cleveland Cavaliers last Wednesday, 95-87, to snap a 12-game road losing streak dating back to last season. The Nets are 1-2 on the road this season, and were 4-37 away from home last year. New Jersey, in addition to their 12-game road streak, has also had road losing streaks of 15 and 18 games dating back to March 2009.
The Clippers have beaten the Nets six straight times in Los Angeles, with their last loss coming on November 27, 2003. The Clippers are 24-13 against the Nets all-time in Los Angeles. One area to watch tonight will be three-point shooting. The Nets are fifth the NBA in shooting from beyond the arc, at 39.2%, while the Clippers have allowed their opponents to shoot 41.9% from three-point range, second worst in the league.
The Clippers are shooting just 29.3% from beyond the arc this season, second worst in the NBA, including an astonishing six for 40 from Eric Gordon, who shot 38% on three-pointers last season. Gordon leads the Clippers, averaging 22.0 points per game this season.
With both Baron Davis and Chris Kaman, the Clippers are expected to start three rookies against the Nets, as they did on Friday against Detroit. Blake Griffin, Eric Bledsoe, and Al-Farouq Aminu are started Friday night, making them the second rookie trio to start for the Clippers since 1989. On March 7, 2009, the Clippers started DeAndre Jordan, Gordon, and Mike Taylor. In the 1988-89 season, rookies Tom Garrick, Gary Grant, and Charles Smith started 15 games together.
The 7:30 p.m. PST game will be televised by Prime Ticket.
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