The Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks have both taken their turns as NBA cellar-dwellers in the past decade, but that isn't the case this year. In fact, on the penultimate day of the regular season, both teams have already clinched spots in the NBA Playoffs.
Clippers Vs. Knicks: Lob City Attempting To Clinch Homecourt Advantage
Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and the Los Angeles Clippers will be attempting to clinch homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs when they play Carmelo Anthony and the New York Knicks on Wednesday night.
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In that regard, Wednesday night’s matchup between the two teams wouldn’t seem to hold a lot of importance. The opening-game of the Hump Day doubleheader (8 p.m ET, ESPN) could actually end up being rather big for both teams, however, as they look to improve their standing in the postseason.
The Clippers are tied with the Memphis Grizzlies for the fourth seed in the Western Conference -- the lowest seed guaranteed homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs -- meaning they will end up playing each other to open the postseason with only the location yet to be decided. Los Angeles owns the tiebreaker with Memphis for the fourth seed, but a loss on Wednesday night coupled with a win by the Grizzlies over the Orlando Magic on Thursday would give Memphis homecourt in the first round.
The Knicks are in a bit less favorable situation entering Wednesday evening's matchup with Chris Paul and the Clippers. New York currently trails the Orlando Magic by two games for the sixth seed, meaning the Knicks could move up a spot if they're able to win out and the Magic lose their final two games of the year. That would mean the difference between meeting the Miami Heat or Indiana Pacers in the first round -- a rather large difference, in fact.
This game has its moderate consequences, then, but our friends over at Clips Nation warn of enormous consequences if the Clippers forget to guard Steve Novak.
Clipper fans know full well what a great shooter Steve Novak is. He's probably the most one-dimensional player in the league -- 83% of his shot attempts this season have been from beyond the three point arc (only DeShawn Stevenson has taken a higher percentage of threes), but man can he shoot. Basically, if Novak is in the game, you have to stay glued to him beyond the arc -- and then abuse him on the other end. Novak is leading the NBA in three point percentage at 47%, and because so many of the shots he takes are threes, his effective field goal percentage is an absurd 67%. But he's only second in the NBA in eFG this season-- behind his teammate, Tyson Chandler.
For more on the Clippers, be sure to visit Clips Nation. For the best Knickerbockers site on the internet, check out Posting and Toasting.
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