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The Back Story:

November 20th 2009 in LA - Clippers 106 - Denver 99  Recap   Box Score

The Big Picture:

If you think about it, the Clippers have actually been remarkably consistent this season.  Since opening the season by losing four consecutive games, the Clippers have been no higher than one game below .500, and no lower than five games below .500.  When it's looked like they might really fold, they've pushed back and gotten key wins.  And when it looked like they might break through to .500, they've always managed to lose (most recently via a Chris Kaman injury and a broken water main).  See what I mean?  Consistent.  One of the huge wins of the season came against the Nuggets back in November.  Sitting at 4-9 and staring at the prospect of another lost season, the Clippers somehow managed to beat the Nuggets despite the absence of Eric Gordon.  That last point is key, as EJ is questionable for tonight after spraining his big toe in last night's win.  Without Gordon in November, Rasual Butler scored 27 to lead the Clippers (it was his Clipper high until he scored 33 against Cleveland Saturday).  If indeed Gordon is unable to go, the Clippers will have to get huge games from Baron Davis and Chris Kaman and probably a couple of other guys just to have a chance.  A win - against a good team, at altitude, beginning a long road trip, on a back to back, on National TV - would be huge.  But frankly, I'm not optimistic.

The Antagonist:

The Nuggets have won four straight - and no coincidentally four games ago is when Carmelo Anthony returned from a minor knee injury.  The Nuggets don't have a lot of depth, and Carmelo recently missed five games while Chauncey Billups missed eight.  But lucky for the Clippers, everyone is healthy again.  And when the Nuggets are at full strength and playing at home - they're almost impossible to beat.  Carmelo's scoring is through the roof this season - a league leading 30 points per game, after a mere 22.8 last season.  He has always been one of the truly gifted scorers in the league - players with his combination of size and skill just don't come along very often.  He'll be a tough cover for the Clippers tonight.  Billups himself has been on a tear lately - he's averaging 26 ppg on 48% shooting in his six games since returning from his groin injury.  That's really bad news for Denver opponents - he had been shooting around 40% before the injury.  I would assume that the November loss will be on Denver's mind and that they'll come out ready for the Clippers tonight.

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