Clippers at Kings
The Los Angeles Clippers experienced a crushing collapse in the second
round of last season's playoffs and their push to redeem themselves
begins with Wednesday's visit to the Sacramento Kings. Los Angeles
appeared on its way to reaching the Western Conference finals last May
before blowing a 19-point lead in Game 6 and eventually losing the
series to the Houston Rockets.
The Clippers again will rely on the trio of point guard Chris Paul, power forward Blake Griffin and center DeAndre Jordan as they possess one of the stronger rosters in the Western Conference. "It's a great core. It's a young core, too, other than Chris," coach Doc Rivers told reporters. "Chris is not old, but he's not young anymore, so what you want to keep doing, I always say if you can keep your core and keep putting around them the right pieces, it's really important." Sacramento has strong offensive weapons in center DeMarcus Cousins and small forward Rudy Gay but allowed 105 points per game last season, tied for third worst in the NBA. “I don’t think offense will be a problem,” point guard Rajon Rondo told reporters. “Obviously, you win championships with defensive stops. Our communication has to continue to get better. It’s not going to happen overnight, it will continue to progress throughout the season."
TV: 10 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), CSN California (Sacramento)
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (2014-15: 56-26): Los Angeles added veteran forward Paul Pierce in the offseason and the 38-year-old, who ranks 16th in NBA history in points scored (25,899) and fourth in 3-pointers (2,053), is fine with coming off the bench to preserve his body for a presumed playoff push. “As years pass along, you have to reinvent yourself," Pierce told reporters. "I don’t have the speed or athleticism I used to have, so you have to find ways to continue to be effective.” Offseason acquisition Lance Stephenson is the possible starting small forward against the Kings and also in the mix at forward is veteran addition Josh Smith.
ABOUT THE KINGS (2014-15: 29-53): The offseason was volatile as discontent between Cousins and coach George Karl boiled over and the two finally got together in Las Vegas to hash out their differences. "We talked our differences out like men," Cousins told reporters. "And at the end of the day, it’s about winning games. That’s one thing me and him can agree on - we want to win and that’s our goal and that’s all that really matters, winning." That winning thing has been tough for the Kings as they have missed the playoffs for nine straight seasons and have won fewer than 30 games in each of the past seven.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Clippers have prevailed in five straight visits to Sacramento.
2. The Kings added SG Marco Belinelli (86 3-pointers in 2014-15) in the offseason to strengthen their long-range shooting.
3. Los Angeles SG Jamal Crawford (triceps) is expected to play in the opener.