The NBA has taken to using Super Bowl Sunday as a chance to promote its own product. Sports fans have to hang out until later in the day to partake in football excellence, and unless they are busy watching their Green and Yellow Jello Shots set, there’s not a whole lot to do. I mean, how much Chris Berman can one actually take in the pre-game run-up?
Clippers Vs. Heat: Blake Griffin, LeBron James Meet Again In Super Bowl XLV Appetizer
The NBA has slipped in to provide some sports appetizers. The league's Super Bowl Sunday is typically quite light, but includes two national TV games of high interest to the casual fan. The early one this year is about the most "did you see that?" matchup possible, with Blake Griffin and the L.A. Clippers venturing to Miami to take on LeBron James and the Heat (12 PM ET, League Pass and local outlets). Given that the schedule was set months ago, it shows a bit of psychic foresight from the league, as Griffin has become the NBA's new must-see attraction.
Griffin's Clippers famously ended the Heat's nine-game win streak when Miami visited L.A. in January. In that game, which came the night after LeBron took to Twitter to poke fun at the Cleveland Cavaliers, who were losing to the L.A. Lakers by 50, James injured his ankle, unleashing a flurry of "karma" jokes. Miami would lose four straight and five of six before righting the ship. The Heat has now won five straight.
Griffin and Mario Chalmers got into a tiff in the teams' first meeting, and Chris Bosh has been getting into tiffs with everybody, so emotions could run high. The Clippers are a game into their long span away from home, with nine more road games to go after completing the Miami visit. L.A. is firmly outside the playoff chase, but the squad seems much more interested in competing nightly than settling for a high draft pick. That said, it's not clear Griffin can function at anything less than top speed.
We’ll be covering the game right here in this StoryStream beginning at noon Eastern. Come along for the ride.
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