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Blake Griffin calls the Lakers ‘a dangerous team’

Blake Griffin and the Clippers beat the Lakers by 48, 36 and 23 points last season.
(Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
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It’s not a word that has been associated with the Lakers much, if at all, this season.

After the Clippers’ 93-90 win over the Thunder on Thursday, when asked about the team’s game against the Lakers on Friday, Clippers’ superstar power forward Griffin described the Lakers differently than most.

“They’re a dangerous team,” Griffin said.

The Lakers, who didn’t make the playoffs last season, recently learned that they’re going to be without their two-time MVP-winning point guard Steve Nash this season because of his back injury. Then on the team’s opening night, Julius Randle, the team’s seventh overall pick in the draft, suffered a fractured tibia in his debut.

Cursed, sure.

Dangerous, not so sure.

Griffin, however, said he still remembers when the teams played last season in their season opener, and the Lakers won, 116-103.

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“They have the ability to get hot, get going,” Griffin said. “They have scorers, guys who can score the ball. I think we need to focus on coming out and putting pressure on them, and really being aggressive on both sides of the floor.”

The Lakers have lost seven of their last eight games against the Clippers, including losses by 48, 36 and 23 points last season. The 48-point margin of victory was the largest in Clippers’ franchise history and the largest loss in Lakers’ history.

So far this season, the Lakers haven’t exactly had much to write home about, losing their first two regular season games by an average of 19 points.

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