Five reasons the Clippers will lose to the Hawks tonight:
- The Hawks beat the Clippers handily in Atlanta in January, without number two scorer and number one freak athlete Josh Smith.
- The Hawks are hot - they've won 7 of their last 12, including road wins over Phoenix and Golden State.
- The Clippers may be without Elton Brand, who is still trying to get over back spasms. (Personally, I think they'd be crazy to play Elton in this game. In the big picture, if you lose this game who cares. But if Elton has over a week away from basketball from the Pacers game through the All Star break, he'll have a chance to get to 100% for a post All Star break push.)
- Zaza!
- The Clippers, in an extremely dubious marketing decision, will be wearing their RED uniforms in honor of Valentine's day. By my count, the Clippers are 7-16 wearing red this season, compared to 17-9 wearing white (they lost in white at Phoenix in the first game of the season). Maybe it's not very romantic of me, but Valentine's Day Schmalentine's Day!