Raptors vs. Clippers: Is eight going to be enough?

Chris Paul has to be some sort of wizard or magician or something. His Clippers team, playing without legitimate superstar Blake Griffin, has recently won ten games in a row and 12 of their last 14. Their current starting lineup features the additional sorcery of Paul Pierce and -- I'm not sure how -- the presence of Luc Mbah a Moute. This is most impressive.

The Raptors, meanwhile, are running through the league's second longest win streak at the moment (along with the Thunder). Seven games! Roll that around on your tongue for a moment. Delicious. This is second only to the supernatural 13-game win streak of the San Antonio Spurs.

It's fair to say the only real note of concern about this Raptors run is the usage (or perhaps over-usage) of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. They're averaging 39.5 and 37.2 minutes, respectively, over the last seven games. On the flip-side though: Holy hell it has been fun watching Lowry and DeRozan play professional basketball.

Yes, let's go with that.

Here comes the Clippers. Here comes the Raptors. Let's get to the comments.

PS. Some pre-game reading: Here's Harsh Dave with his preview for the game.