Rowan Kavner
DALLAS – J.J. Redick’s just the next Clipper in line to increase his production when another key contributor goes down.
DeAndre Jordan had to do it when Blake Griffin went out, and Redick’s doing the same now with Jamal Crawford down, scoring at least 18 points in each of his last five games as the Clippers (42-23) get set to play the Mavericks (41-25) on Friday.
“We feel good with where we’re at,” Redick said. “It’s hard to really gauge our team, because we’ve had such inconsistencies and we’ve played very well for stretches and we’ve had bad stretches…But I’ve said this all year: I believe in our team. I believe we have enough to get to where we all want to be and where we all talk about. I still feel that way.”
Head coach Doc Rivers said it’s been big to win some tough games while Griffin’s on the mend, particularly on the road. The first win the Clippers got without Griffin happened in the same place the Clippers find themselves on Friday.
In that last win in Dallas, Redick also returned from back spasms to help the cause.
“J.J.’s so important to our team,” Rivers said. “J.J. showed up in Dallas and played. It gives us that extra offense, that movement. It’s exhausting. You could see they tried to put (Russell) Westbrook on him for a while, and nobody wants to chase that guy around the floor all night. That’s exciting. Even when he’s not making shots, it’s hard and it affects the other team.”
Tipoff: 5:30PM PT
LAST TIME OUT
Clippers 120, Thunder 108 – The Clippers’ starters combined for 102 points, led by Chris Paul’s 33-point, nine-assist night. Matt Barnes and J.J. Redick combined for 47 points. DeAndre Jordan added 18 points and 17 rebounds. The Clippers hit 15 3-pointers in the win.
Cavaliers 127, Mavericks 94 – The loss was the Mavericks’ third in their last four games and fifth in their last seven. The trade for Rajon Rondo hasn’t gone as planned for them, as they’re trending the wrong way in the West. The Mavs made just five 3-pointers to the Cavs’ 15.
NOTEWORTHY MATCHUP
DeAndre Jordan vs. Tyson Chandler – The last time these teams faced off, Jordan came up with arguably his most dominant performance of an already dominant year, scoring 22 points and pulling down 27 rebounds. Chandler only played a minute in that game before injuring his ankle. It’ll be a much tougher matchup inside this time around as the two athletic bigs battle inside.
TWO THINGS TO WATCH
Paint Battle – It starts with Jordan and Chandler going back and forth, but the entire Clippers team has done a good job inside against the Mavs this year. The Clippers have scored at least eight more points in the paint and outrebounded the Mavs by at least six in each of the first two matchups this season.
Bench Spark – In a game featuring the likes of Chris Paul, Dirk Nowitzki, DeAndre Jordan, J.J. Redick, Monta Ellis and Chandler Parsons, it was Charlie Villanueva who led all scorers in the last matchup between the teams. The Mavs played all eight bench players in that game and have no qualms heading to a deep reserve unit. Without Jamal Crawford, the Clippers will need some standout performances off the bench.
NOTES: The Clippers and Mavs are two of the top three teams at protecting the ball … Both teams are in the top five in the league in offensive rating and assist-to-turnover ratio … The Mavs are second in the league in points off turnovers, but they allow the second most fast-break points in the league … Griffin (elbow) and Crawford (calf) are out for the Clippers, while Al-Farouq Aminu (shoulder) is questionable … Aminu was drafted eighth overall by the Clippers in 2010 … Rivers coached Rondo for seven seasons with the Celtics … Dahntay Jones played part of the 2012-13 season on the Mavericks …
