Die Macht » to go in Game 1. Hendricks and his 1.32

It was just over a week ago that the Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder faced off for the first time this season. It took place in Los Angeles and the visiting team grabbed a hard fought 85-83 victory.The teams square off again on Friday at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City and the Clippers look to avenge their lone loss of the season.The Nov. 2 contest was up for grabs throughout, but it was Oklahoma City that found a way to make the biggest plays in the most crucial moments to snare the victory.Despite that, the Clippers (7-1) believe they have shown an ability to put teams away and display a killer instinct that may not have been present in previous seasons.Were definitely trying to do that, Los Angeles guard Jamal Crawford said. But we understand its a long season. Well have stretches where we may lose a couple of games in a row. So you dont want to get too high or too low over the course of the season. But you want to build good habits.Facing the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night, the Clippers didnt allow the game to come down to the final possessions. They came out and attacked Portland on their way to 111-80 victory.Los Angeles led 61-32 at halftime and never let up. Coach Doc Rivers wants to see more of that killer instinct.I think we need to continue to learn how to close teams out, Rivers said. Right now, when we get a lead it seems like they want to run it up even more. This team stays disciplined and continues to play solid, which we need to continue working on throughout the season.Putting teams away hadnt been a problem for Oklahoma City (6-2). Before facing Toronto on Wednesday, the Thunder had built big enough leads that the starters were able to rest in the fourth quarter in the previous two games.Against the Raptors, it was the Thunder who made mistakes in the fourth quarter that prevented them from earning the win.We battled and fought, the guys did, Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. I think it was maybe a six point game with a relatively decent amount of time left in the game. I think a lot of things for us defensively, we can look at from rebounding to pick-and-roll coverage to our transition defense where we can continue to try to get better and improve.Against Toronto, the Thunder often got away from their inside play and settled for long three-pointers. As a team they hoisted up 34 attempts and made 12 of them.That included guard Victor Oladipo, who was 5 of 9 from behind the arc.Im just ready to shoot at all times, just waiting for it, Oladipo said. When it comes to me I just try to be aggressive.Even though they had an easy night Wednesday, guard Chris Paul says that doesnt give the Clippers an advantage.I dont think one has anything to do with the other, Paul said. Im glad we didnt go into triple overtime. But we know how tough it is to play in Oklahoma City. Those guys have been playing extremely well. For us, its something that Doc (Rivers) has harped on since day one. Its a business trip for us and we have to go there with a single mindset and win it Friday night. Vapormax Plus Mens Sale . -- Eastern Kentucky thrives off creating havoc for others. Air Max Plus Clearance . -- Sergey Tolchinksy scored his second goal of the game 3:56 into overtime as the Sault Ste. http://www.airmaxplusstoresale.com/air-max-plus-tn-cheap/tns-ultra-discount.html .H. -- Matt Kenseth made it 2 for 2 in the Chase, holding off teammate Kyle Busch to win Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Vapormax Plus Clearance . - Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds, J. Vapormax Plus Discount .C. -- Rodney Hood connected from all over the court while freshman Jabari Parker was busy swatting shots and scoring in transition. Wow. If Game 2 is anything like the Giants-Cubs opener, its going to be an intense night at Wrigley Field when San Francisco tries to get even with Chicago. Who has the edge??Go inside the numbers and matchups that will decide Saturdays game, and then vote for which team will win at the bottom of the page.Inside the pitching matchupWhen Jeff Samardzija is on the mound: The free agent delivered exactly what the Giants could have expected, making 32 starts, topping 200 innings, and producing a solid 3.81 ERA. Samardzija works off a 93-95 mph fastball that doesnt generate a high rate of swings and misses but does generate an above-average ground ball rate, especially when he throws the two-seamer.Samardzijas primary secondary pitches in recent years have been a slider and cutter, but in August he suddenly resurrected a curveball he hadnt thrown since 2012, essentially dropping the cutter in the process. The cutter had actually been a pretty effective pitch for him -- batters hit .213/.244/.361 against it -- but the curveball has been even more effective, holding batters to a .179 average in a small sample size so far. Since Samardzija doesnt throw a changeup, the curveball gives him a lower-velocity offspeed pitch to go with the 87 mph slider. The curve is thrown in the low 80s, so maybe the change in speeds will improve the effectiveness of a fastball that batters hit .322/.381/.519 against. (Indeed, his OPS against his fastball went down in August and September). -- David SchoenfieldWhen Kyle Hendricks is on the mound: Speaking of throwing first-pitch strikes, nobody had a higher rate of them than Hendricks, tied with Johnny Cueto at 68.4 percent. That goes a long way to explaining how he led the NL with a 2.13 ERA. Hendricks ranks near the bottom of the league in fastball velocity, but his ERA wasnt just a product of the Cubs defense: He led major league starters in limiting hard contact.He does that by expertly changing speeds with his four-seamer, sinker, curveball, cutter and changeup -- and hitting his spots. Everything is to the corners -- away to lefties, away to righties. No starter had a higher percentage of pitches on the outer half of the plate than Hendricks, with 62 percent of his pitches on the outer third of the strike zone.Hendricks throws his fastball about half the time, increasing the usage of his changeup and cutter this season. Both were deadly weapons as batters hit .135 against the changeup and .164 against the cutter, with good K rates of 29.5 and 25.3 percent. Indeed, dont be fooled by the lack of velocity: His strikeout rate is more than adequate, ranking 24th out of 74 starters. How do you beat him? Its not easy. You can hope he elevates a fastball or misses over the middle, but he doesnt do that often. Knowing he pounds the strike zone, you can try to jump on him early in the count..ddddddddddddHe didnt have a large platoon split, so thats not a major factor. The Giants do put the ball in play, so maybe their ability to foul off pitches will come into play, waiting for Hendricks to make a mistake. -- SchoenfieldPlayer in the spotlightBuster Posey. Poseys power disappeared in the second half with only three home runs and he hit only .257 in September. Poseys postseason history at the plate isnt good -- a weak .241/.318/.319 line entering this series over 49 games, with only four home runs. The Giants won the World Series in 2014 even though Posey didnt have an extra-base hit the entire postseason. I doubt they can win if that happens again. -- SchoenfieldWhat will decide tonights gameIf Samardzijas curveball can quiet the Cubs bats. He used his curveball 15 percent of the time in the second half after not throwing a single curve in the first. Opponents hit just .179 on the pitch with a .425 OPS. It would be prudent for Samardzija to throw the curve Saturday ... a lot. The Cubs hit just .193 off curveballs this season, 25th in the majors. Their .577 OPS ranked 20th. Who specifically should he use it against? Addison Russell hit .122 against curveballs this season, 141st of 146 qualifying hitters.?--?Sarah Langs, ESPN Stats & InfoChoosing sides: Who will win?As good as Hendricks was this year, with barely a mistake for six months, he still has to prove himself in October. Last postseason, he failed to make it out of the fifth inning in both starts. I expect a higher-scoring game, which isnt saying much after Fridays 1-0 affair, but Samardzija will outpitch Hendricks by just enough. -- Mark SaxonThis is the matchup the Cubs have been waiting for even if they didnt know it. What they do know is Samardzija. He is decidedly more hittable than Cueto, as he has given up 14 hits in 10 innings to his former team -- and the Cubs have scored nine runs off him. Meanwhile, the aggressive Giants will be sliced and diced by Hendricks, leading to a pull-away victory by the home team. -- Jesse RogersWe saw the template for how this series is likely to go in Game 1. Hendricks and his 1.32 home ERA are tough to beat, but we know the Giants wont be rattled by their rough loss Friday. Win Saturday and they still split and have Madison Bumgarner looming in Game 3. Still, Hendricks has just been too good at Wrigley and as solid as Samardzija has been, the Cubs starter has been on a different level. Cubs go up 2-0.?-- Bradford DoolittleWhere the series standsAfter a thrilling Game 1 win, the Cubs have a chance to push the Giants to the brink on Saturday night -- and they better capitalize on it, because Bumgarner will get the ball when the series shifts to San Francisco. ?--?ESPN.com ' ' '