OPENING TIP
You don’t stop Blake Griffin and you don’t really hope to contain him. You pretty much hope the L.A. Clippers’ All-Star power forward just has an off night.
That’s pretty much what the Cavaliers are facing, as they continue their six-road-games-in-11-days march Monday against Griffin and the Clippers.
Griffin is what many power forward aspire to be, a modern-day Karl Malone who possess raw strength, a decent shooting touch and a fondness for finishing off the fast break. And man, can he finish.
And today, he has no less than Chris Paul tossing him lob passes and penetrating into the key.
But the Clippers are more than Griffin and Paul. Along with underrated types such as small forward Caron Butler and athletic center DeAndre Jordan, go at least nine deep with Jamal Crawford, Eric Bledsoe, Matt Barnes and still-productive Lamar Odom off the bench.
But for the Cavs, perhaps worse than the Griffin-and-Paul combo is the fact the Clippers are coming off a home loss to Golden State on Saturday. That makes an already difficult task even more gargantuan.
VENUE
Staples Center, Los Angeles
TIP-OFF
10:30 p.m. EST
TELEVISION
FOX Sports Ohio HD (Cavaliers Live pre-game show begins at 10 p.m.)
RADIO
WTAM-1100 AM (broadcast begins at 10 p.m.)
PROBABLE STARTERS
Cavs
C – Anderson Varejao; PF – Tristan Thompson; SF – Alonzo Gee; SG – Dion Waiters; PG – Kyrie Irving. Coach: Byron Scott.
Clippers
C – DeAndre Jordan; PF – Blake Griffin; SF – Caron Butler; SG – Willie Green; PG – Chris Paul. Coach: Vinny Del Negro.
NOTABLE
The Cavs' bench has struggled mightily, and Scott said that may result in a change in the rotation. It could even mean using only eight players. … This marks the first matchup between Irving and Paul. Irving missed the lone meeting last season with an injury. … The Cavs lead the all-time series, 67-41. … Varejao is averaging 13.8 points on 64-percent shooting, and 15 rebounds.
Follow Sam Amico on Twitter @SamAmicoFSO
