Live Thread: Cavs @ Clippers

[Editor’s Note: Nate Smith here. I’m pleased to announce that today we are LIVE with the CtB website re-design. It’s been years coming, but we hope it adds to your enjoyment of the site. Included in the re-design is a new comment system that LIVE UPDATES your comment feed every 20 seconds. Your new comments will appear at the top, and other user’s comments appear at the bottom. We’re considering this site/comment system rollout an “open beta.” We request your comments on look/feel/usability in today’s live thread and beyond. None of this is set in stone, and we want the site to be the best it can be for the community. Also, feel free to email us. Remember, we don’t make a dime off this site, and we do it as a labor of love. As such, we might be a little rough around the edges with this rollout, but we really want to hear what you think.

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After two days off to enjoy—but hopefully not too much—Los Angeles, the Cleveland Cavaliers are back in action this afternoon against the Los Angeles Clippers. Both of these teams fancy themselves title contenders, and a win for either would provide a nice confidence boost going forward.

Today’s game could have serious implications in terms of the conference standings as well. The Cavs are just two games ahead of the Toronto Raptors for the top seed in the Eastern Conference, and have several back-to-backs left. Meanwhile the Raptors have a fairly easy schedule the rest of the way, and are playing with terrific focus and confidence. Considering Toronto also holds the tie-breaker, the Cavaliers can’t take any game for granted, and the assumption that even if they lose today they’ll win tomorrow against the Utah Jazz could prove to be a huge mistake.

Meanwhile, the Clippers sit just a game behind the Oklahoma City Thunder for the third seed in the Western Conference, and are actually tied with them in the loss column. Whichever team is able to secure the third seed wouldn’t have to face the Golden State Warriors until the Conference Finals, and considering the Clippers’ prior success against the San Antonio Spurs, this has to be a top priority for them.

Vegas currently favors the Cavaliers by about two points in today’s matchup, while BPI gives the Clippers a 54% chance of coming out on top. Whatever the result, expect a great game between these two teams led by close friends LeBron James and Chris Paul. Be sure to tune into ABC at 3:30 and share your thoughts here at Cavs: The Blog!