Los Angeles Lakers vs. Los Angeles Clippers: Bold predictions for season opener

3. DeAndre Jordan pulls down 20+ rebounds

Someone needs to be the dominant force for this rebuilt Clippers team. While Griffin figures to be the star of the show, DeAndre Jordan should have no trouble asserting himself as the powerful presence in the paint.

That’ll start on Thursday, when he pulls down more than 20 rebounds against the Lakers.

More from LA Clippers

• NBA Trades: This wild Mavs, Clippers, and 76ers deal must happen ASAP
• Ranking the 10 championship-less NBA teams by closeness to title
• Can the Clippers realistically sign Chris Paul after shocking waive news?
• NBA Rumors: This playoff team is now the leader to land Westbrook
• NBA Rumors: Westbrook may have played his final game for the Clippers

Now there are two things feeding into this prediction for Jordan. The first is that, at this moment, I don’t think the Clippers are nearly as efficient of a scoring team. With Paul gone and Griffin now the top offensive threat, there figures to be more missed shots than before. While the additions of Galinari and Lou Williams should help, the efficiency will still drop.

As you can probably figure out, more missed shots equals more opportunities for rebounds.

The second part of this is that the Lakers don’t exactly have their own dominant big men to combat Jordan down low. Brook Lopez is an offensive force, but can struggle at times on the boards. Julius Randle and Larry Nance Jr. are both solid in the rebounding department, but could get overwhelmed by the strength and tenacity of Jordan.

The Clippers’ center has a career- high of 27 rebounds in a game (via Real GM). While I’m not going as far as saying he’ll eclipse that mark, Jordan should get very close against the Lakers.