In lieu of the Christmas day game between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers, D.J. Foster of Clipperblog and Kevin Arnovitz as well as Justin Verrier from ESPN.COM tackled five questions about the match up with Warriors World’s Ethan Sherwood Strauss and I. Here is an excerpt:
What will you be watching most closely on Christmas Day?
Kevin Arnovitz, ESPN.com: The Clippers’ perimeter defense. We know the Clips can score and rebound — but can they contain the W’s speed demons?
D.J. Foster, ClipperBlog: Warriors head coach Mark Jackson. When Ellis inevitably takes a contested shot over a double team, maybe he’ll rip off his suit, reveal a jersey underneath, and substitute himself into the game. If that doesn’t happen, I guess a few Paul-to-Griffin alley-oops will suffice.
J.M. Poulard, Warriors World: The backcourts. Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups versus Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis promises to be both interesting and entertaining. The point guards are both effective but in completely different ways, whereas the players matched up at shooting guard will probably try to outdo one another, which could lead to a scoring explosion by Ellis.
Ethan Sherwood Strauss, HoopSpeak: Mark Jackson seems allergic to using Ellis at PG, so I’ll examine how Monta gets deployed in this new system. But honestly, I’ll mostly stare at Blake Griffin slamming thunder claps on David Lee‘s head.
Justin Verrier, ESPN.com: Can the Clippers play like an elite outfit against an inferior (and wounded) opponent? With an offense built to thrill, L.A. is already Rob Lowe dreamy in the eyes of most NBA fans. By taking the Warriors to the woodshed, the Clips — in their national debut, no less — can show the substance needed to back up all the buzz and keep the bandwagon hummin’.
You can find the rest of the piece here. Enjoy.
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What’s it take to boecme a sublime expounder of prose like yourself?
I’m with you DUBS, if anything the Clips need worry about an angry Ellis, Curry if healthy, deadly Dorrell and a big support cast. Mark Jackson will implement his style of ball that will put Golden State back on the map. I like the Kwame and Rush pick ups. Thompson may get Rook of the year, he’s not afraid to put it up. Warriors are Baaaaack!!!!
What the hell kind of article is this???? I thought this was warriors world, not bash on the dubs .com. J.M. you have the only apt analysis of the christmas game the other “analysts” are nothing more than bandwagon frontrunners who obviously love to attach to the ballsack that is the los angeles clippers. All of you have been watching too much sportscenter. Udoh and Deandre will be more of a factor in this game than chauncy. I am really excited to see how dorrell wright faces butler. There are so many matchups on the court that are better than just the marquee players and these matchups will very well determine the game.