Will This be The First?
The Los Angeles Clippers opened this season with a victory over the Golden State Warriors, who were fresh off an impressive playoff run. More than two weeks later, the Warriors are still seeking their first win of 2007-08.
Golden State looks to get that elusive first win and avoid its worst start in a decade when it wraps up a four-game homestand against the Clippers on Friday.
Oddsmakers from Bodog have made Golden State -4 point spread favorites (NBA Odds) for todays game, the over/under has been set at 216 total points (Matchup). Our public betting information shows that 60% of bets for this game have been placed on Golden State -1 (View NBA Bet Percentages).
The Warriors (0-6) looked like they were going to get their first win of the season on Wednesday against Detroit, but blew a 22-point lead to lose 111-104.
Golden State got off to a fast start, scoring a season-high 40 points in the first quarter, but things later unraveled as it scored 40 points on 15-for-43 shooting (34.9 percent) in the second half.
"We had a tremendous amount of energy early on, (but) we got tired and slowed down in the second half,” said Al Harrington, who had 20 points and eight rebounds. "It’s disappointing. We haven’t won a game yet, so they all look the same."
Baron Davis, who had 29 points and 10 assists on Wednesday, has been playing better lately, but it still hasn’t led to any wins for the Warriors. Davis is averaging 31.7 points on 47.4 percent shooting in his last three games after averaging 19.3 points on 36.0 percent shooting in his first three.
Last season, the Warriors made the playoffs as a No. 8 seed, and upset Dallas in six games before losing to Utah in five in the second round. This season, they’re the only winless team in the league.
Golden State, which also started 0-6 in 2004-05, has not opened a season with seven straight losses since starting a club-worst 0-9 in 1997-98.
The Warriors have also dropped all four of their games at Oracle Arena, and have not opened with five straight home losses since losing their first six in 1997-98.
This will be the final game of Warriors swingman Stephen Jackson’s seven-game suspension for pleading guilty to firing a gun outside an Indianapolis strip club in Oct. 2006.
Golden State hopes a home game against Los Angeles can help it snap out of its funk. The Warriors have won three straight games over the Clippers at Oracle Arena, and 13 of their last 16 over them at home.
The Clippers (5-2) beat the Warriors 120-114 at Staples Center on Nov. 2, behind Chris Kaman’s career-high 26 points and 18 rebounds.
Kaman had 14 points and 18 boards in Wednesday’s 84-81 victory over New York for his fifth double-double of the season.
Los Angeles allowed the Knicks to erase a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit and tie the game at 77 with 1:41 remaining, but Tim Thomas hit a 17-footer to put the Clippers back in front for good 13 seconds later.
"We got a nice little lead, they made a run late and they pretty much had the momentum," Thomas said. "But we kept fighting and we made some big shots, big free throws, and got our hands on some rebounds down the stretch."
Cuttino Mobley scored 10 points and had a season-high seven assists on Wednesday after missing the previous two games with a hip injury. Los Angeles lost both of those games, after starting the season 4-0. Mobley scored 21 points in the Clippers’ season-opening win over the Warriors.
After meeting twice in the first two weeks, these Pacific Division rivals don’t meet again until March 19 in Los Angeles.
By: Marc Young – theSpread.com – Email Us
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