Lakers/Clips

This should be an interesting year for the Clips. Typically the joke of the league, the addition of Davis and Camby will be interesting. I can't say enough about Camby. He can block, rebound and despite a funny release, can bury the midrange jumper. Is he a direct replacement for Brand? Absolutely not. But the pick-up cost the Clips nothing in cap space so why not. The Clips will probably be better than the Nuggets but that still won't earn than a playoff spot. I think the Clips will improve over last year. I'm not sold on the 2 and 3 spots. Mobley isn't getting younger or quicker. This will be Thornton's second year. I can't say much about him because I don't know much. He will be splitting time with Davis.

Game Predictions:
Kobe torches Mobley for 25+
The Laker bench show it's depth in the second quarter
Davis will look to run & gun but find out the cast around him is much less athletic

Keys to the game:
The Laker interior D needs control the amount of damage that Davis can do off the dribble.
Rebounding on offense and defense will be key. Camby and Kaman are great role players and work hard in the trenches. Bynum and Gasol will get the better of the match-up but if they get lazy, tehy will get out-wroked. The Clips will probably want to run and gun. I don't think Davis's game is suited for the half court so they'll be looking to kick the ball out and start the break. If the Lakers can control the tempo, the Clips will probably resort jumpers. Our weakness will come if we get sucked into an up tempo game. Don't get me wrong, the Lakers can run the break with the best of them, but turnovers will make and break this team.