Game 1 Preview: Kevin Durant and the Thunder take on Blake Griffin and the Clippers

2013-2014 NBA Post-Season
57-25	@	59-23
March 5th, 2014
Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
8:30 CT PM
TNT
WWLS 98.1 FM OKC
Enemy Blogs: Clips Nation
Previous Meetings: LA 111- 103 OKC; OKC 105- 91 LA; LA 125- 117 OKC; OKC 107- 101 LA
Injury Report: Hedo Turkoglu DTD
Probable Starters
Chris Paul	P	Russell Westbrook
J.J. Redick	SG	Caron Butler
Matt Barnes	SF	Kevin Durant
Blake Griffin	PF	Serge Ibaka
DeAndre Jordan	C	Kendrick Perkins

The craziness that was the first round of the playoffs has come to a close, and the Thunder will kick off their round two matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers tonight.

Through 4 games in the regular season, the Thunder and Clippers are tied 2-2.  The Clippers have one of the most well rounded teams in the NBA lead by the best all around point guard, Chris Paul, and young superstar, Blake Griffin.  Outside of the dynamic duo stands the defensive anchor of the crew, Deandre Jordan, who lead the NBA in rebounds and field goal percentage during the regular season.  JJ Redick starts at shooting guard, while Matt Barnes, an all around threat, plays the SF.  Off the bench, the Clips lots of depth with the inconsistently injured, Danny Granger, electric veteran, Jamal Crawford, and the big baby, Glen Davis.  It can be argued that the Doc Rivers coached team has the most deep team in the league.

The Clippers have the top ranked offense with 107.9 PPG.  Serge Ibaka, with some help from Steven Adams, will need to work hard to contain the big men of LA.  Expect extreme posterizing dunks.

Kevin Durant will be matched up with Matt Barnes.  Barnes is not a stand out defender, so I guess you can say Durant will be having a fun time playing against LA.

Physicality will be an important topic in this game, as Jordan is one of the more physical characters in the NBA.  There will need to be lots of boxing out and aggressiveness.  I think I know a Kiwi who specializes in both.

This team is certainly an upgrade from the Grizzlies.  It will be the ultimate test for OKC.  Let's see if they can pass and get off on the right foot.

Prediction: Thunder 106 Clippers 98