Staples Center will be alive Monday night with a battle of first place teams, as the Pacific Division leading Los Angeles Clippers host the Northwest Division leading Oklahoma City Thunder. Oklahoma City owns the best record in the NBA at 16-3. Here are the relevant details of Monday night's game.
Records: Clippers (11-6); Thunder (16-3)
Location: Staples Center, in downtown Los Angeles
Time: 7:30 p.m.
TV: Prime Ticket and NBA TV
Offensive Efficiency: Thunder, 107.9 (second in NBA); Clippers, 106.8 (seventh)
Defensive Efficiency: Thunder, 101.2 (11th); Clippers, 105.2 (25th)
Top Tens: Blake Griffin is currently 10th in the NBA in scoring (21.0 points per game) and fourth in rebounding (11.3 per game), joining Kevin Love of the Minnesota Timberwolves as the only two in the top 10 in both categories.
Dynamic Duo: Kevin Durant ranks third in the league in scoring at 26.3 points per game, while Russell Westbrook is 11th in the league at 20.8 points per contest. They are the only two teammates in the league averaging 20 or more points per game.
Terrific Trio: Don't forget James Harden, who is boasting a true shooting percentage of 67.1% this season and has a player efficiency rating (PER) of 23.5, good for ninth in the NBA. The Thunder have three of the top 14 players in the league according to PER: Durant (26.4, third), Harden (23.5, ninth), and Westbrook (22.3, 14th).
Home, Sweet Home: The Clippers are 9-2 at home this season, and 25-7 in their last 32 home games dating back to last season. The last time the Clippers began a season 10-2 at home was the 2005-2006 season, a year in which the Clippers made the playoffs.
Points Guard: From Steve Perrin at Clips Nation: "The Clippers are now 1-4 on the season when [Chris] Paul plays and scores fewer than 16 points. They are 7-0 when he scores more than 16. They are also 3-2 in games he has missed. Simple formula, right? Paul scores, Clippers win."
For more news and notes on the Clippers, be sure to read Clips Nation.