Clippers vs. Dallas - Game Preview and Open Thread

Note that from Dec. 28 through Jan. 4, ClipperSteve is enjoying the Holidays with his family and away from his computer.  As such, this preview does not go into much detail.  Please add pertinent information in the comments for your fellow Citizens.

2008/2009 NBA Regular Season
	vs.
Staples Center
December 28th, 2008, 12:30 PM
KTLA Channel 5
Probable starters:
Baron Davis	PG	Jason Kidd
Eric Gordon	SG	Josh Howard
Al Thornton	SF	Devean George
Zach Randolph	PF	Dirk Nowizki
Marcus Camby	C	Erick Dampier

The Back Story:

• November 9, 2008 in LA:  Clippers 103 - Dallas 92  Box Score  Recap
• December 2, 2008 in Dallas:  Dallas 100 - Clippers 98  Box Score  Recap

The Big Picture:

The Clippers beat the Mavs for their first win this season, and outplayed them completely for about 43 minutes in their second meeting before melting down in the final five minutes in Dallas.  So clearly the Clippers are not intimidated at all by Dallas.  Of course, Josh Howard did not play in either of those first two meetings.  It will be interesting to see if Rick Carlisle chooses to throw a zone defense at the Clippers early in this one, given that they were completely incapable of scoring against the zone in Dallas.  The Clippers are coming off five days off, that followed two terrible losses.  They could be rusty or rested.  They could be renewed or resigned to their fate.  It's an important game in that regard.  Zach Randolph was injured in the last game, but will hopefully be OK for this one.  As I write this, there's still a possibility that Chris Kaman will make his return to action today.  I'm sure there is more current information available on both Z-Bo and Kaman - someone please add it to the comments.

• Get the Mavericks perspective at Mavs Moneyball.