Los Angeles Clippers vs Denver Nuggets Free Pro Basketball Picks

Los Angeles Clippers at Denver Nuggets
Friday, 11/5/10, 10:30 PM EST, TV: ESPN
Opening Point Spread: Denver -10.5
Current Betting Line: Denver -11
Opening Total: 204
Current Total: 203.5

Los Angeles Clippers guard Eric Gordon is coming off a season-high 27 points heading into Denver

Los Angeles broke through with its first victory of the season with a 107-92 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder at the Staples Center on Wednesday night. The Clippers were playing without point guard Baron Davis for the second straight game, but managed to shooting 50 percent from the field and 50 percent from beyond the arc. Guard Eric Gordon had a season-high 27 points and forward Blake Griffin pitched in with 18 points and nine rebounds in just over 32 minutes of action. “We weren’t pushing the ball the other day, so I’m just trying to set the pace,” said guard Eric Bledsoe. “Just aggressive play.” Los Angeles entered the contest allowing opponents to shoot 46.9 percent from the three-point area, but held the Thunder to just 4-of-26 shooting. The team is 1-4 ATS in all games this season and the NBA lines page has them as a healthy road underdog.

The Clippers are certainly up against it tonight being 2-11 in their last 13 games against the Nuggets. Los Angeles did pick up a 106-99 victory against them at the Staples Center on November 20, 2009, even with Denver guard Carmelo Anthony scoring 37 points. Offensively, the team scored over 100 points for the first time on Wednesday night and went over that mark 21 times during the 2009-10 campaign, posting a 12-9 record in those contests. Don’t expect a major winning streak because of picking up a victory because the roster is the ninth-youngest in the NBA.

Denver dropped a 102-101 home game to the Dallas Mavericks last time out and the size disadvantage between both teams was evident throughout. The Nuggets were led by Anthony’s 20 points, but surrendered 35 points to Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki. “We fought hard, had a lot of price, a lot of will,” head coach George Karl commented. “We just came up short.” The team is waiting for guard J.R. Smith to start contributing, averaging just 7.8 points while shooting 10-of-31 from the floor. It’s very important that someone else starts carrying the load off Anthony’s shoulders, as the squad is still without forwards Chris Anderson and Kenyon Martin due to injury. Denver is 52-42 ATS at home over the last three years.

The Nuggets have won seven straight against the Clippers at home and their last three losses in the series have come on the road in Los Angeles. Denver’s current seven-game home winning streak over the Clippers represents their longest active winning streak against any Western Conference opponent. With the Clippers managing to score 100 points just 22 times in the last 86 games, Denver has a good chance of avoiding an 0-3 start when allowing 100-plus points.

Bettors will be interested to find that the Clippers are 0-8 ATS in their last eight games following an ATS win, while the Nuggets are 1-10-1 ATS when playing with one days rest.