Clippers vs Lakers: Chris Paul's Return Will Mean Another Win for Clippers

The last time Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul was able to play was on Jan. 14 against the Los Angeles Lakers. He scored 33 points and the Clippers won 102-94.

Because of that, the Lakers would probably be just fine if Paul were to sit out again on Wednesday night at the Staples Center, where the Clippers and Lakers are slated to do battle for the second time this season.

Tough luck, Lakers. According to Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com, CP3's wounded left hamstring didn't give him any trouble in practice on Tuesday and it didn't give him any trouble in Wednesday's shootaround. Barring a last-minute setback, Paul is expected to start against the Lakers.

Paul's return will allow Chauncey Billups to move back to shooting guard, thus restoring harmony to the Clippers' starting lineup. They will be at full strength against the Lakers.

And that's bad news for them. Thanks in large part to Paul's performance in the first game, the Clippers proved to be too much for the Lakers to handle, and we're going to see that same reality play itself out on Wednesday night.

We know that the Lakers have the length and talent to hang with the Clippers inside, but Paul is the one player who makes the Clippers better. The Lakers don't have anybody who can guard him, and they also have to worry about Paul's ability to create shots for others as well. The Lakers are going to have to either ramp up their defense, or generate enough offense to keep pace.

The latter is more likely. The last time the Clippers and Lakers played, Kobe Bryant was in the midst of a stretch where he was scoring 40 points every night. He was extremely hot at the time, and he put the Lakers on his back with 42 points against the Clippers, 21 of which came in the third quarter.

Kobe cooled off for a couple games after that, taking and making fewer shots. But he's getting hot again, as he has scored a total of 63 points in the Lakers' last two games. Against the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, Kobe took 30 shots, his most since Jan. 13.

The Clippers are going to put the Lakers in a position where Kobe will have to rescue them yet again. He'll perform as admirably as ever, but the question will be if he can get any help whatsoever from Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.

And these days, that's a crapshoot. Gasol is hit or miss, and Bynum hasn't been as dangerous as he was earlier in the season. He has settled back into his place as a role player, which is a discouraging development for the Lakers.

Since Gasol and Bynum are question marks until further notice, all we really know about the Lakers is that Kobe is going to come to play and that he's going to play well. If the Lakers' current skid (four losses in five games) is any indication, this needs to change.

The Lakers will snap out of it sooner or later, but the Clippers have more than enough firepower to continue the Lakers' woes now that Paul is ready to return to the lineup. His minutes will likely be restricted, but he's definitely going to log enough minutes to make a difference in this game.

Just enough of a difference, I think, to give the Clippers a win.