L.A. Clippers at Phoenix
Time: 9 PM CT (NBA LP)
Spread: LAC -10.5
Total: 222.5
Odds c/o 5dimes
CLIPPERS Notes:
Los Angeles may have dealt superstar Blake Griffin, but it still retained leading scorer Lou Williams and re-signed him to a contract. He is averaging 23.3 points 2.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 32.5 minutes a night. The Clippers seemingly have just slid new acquisition Tobias Harris directly into the role once occupied by Griffin, and the role has been a revelation for Harris.
Through his first two games (both wins) he averaged 21.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and two assists per game while posting a PER of 17.4. Albeit, those figures are all shy of what Griffin did, but not tremendously so. Pairing Harris along with sharpshooter Danilo Gallinari gives the Clips a good 1-2 scoring punch in the frontcourt, and Austin Rivers is really pretty damn good for a guy who had already been billed a bust.
This year, Rivers is averaging 15.8 points and 3.6 assists per game in 32 minutes a night, thriving as a three-positional talent that surely was expected to be this good, if only on his father’s legacy. DeAndre Jordan was thought to be a trade target for several teams, but he remains in Los Angeles. ‘’?It was rumored the Clippers offered him to Houston in exchange for Clint Capela and were rebuked, but this writer makes no claim to such sources or validates the validity of said-rumors. No matter the case, Jordan forms the third part of a staunch frontline for the Clippers and the team hardly lacks in depth.
Veteran combo guard Avery Bradley was also acquired with Harris, and he is generally regarded as one of the most underrated players and best one-on-one perimeter defenders in the Association. Bradley is averaging just 10 points and three assists through his first two games, but the last outing he was an efficient 6 of 10 from the floor with three steals.?He makes his impact, in short.
The Clippers might not be the chic pick as true contenders, but it reasons that L.A. can absolutely sneak into the playoffs and be a formidable opponent (in other words not be swept necessarily) to one of the top-tier teams in the West.?The team has sufficient leadership, talent, and just because its identity is not really the same without Chris Paul and Blake Griffin does not mean that these pros cannot come together to gel quickly before the postseason arrives. L.A. should remain on the radar of dark horse sneaky teams that have gone under the radar. There is enough talent on the roster to put up a fight.
Phoenix Notes:
The Phoenix Suns have been mired in a horrible season, but made a clutch move at the trade deadline in acquiring Orlando Magic point guard and No. 10 overall pick in 2014 Elfrid Payton, for the lost cost of a second round pick. Phoenix now possibly has obtained its point guard of the future, though the list of black marks on Elfrid’s resume do abound. Magic analysts cited his poor defense and overall poor basketball IQ as ultimately irresolvable for the Orlando team, and it certainly did not defend well. Payton now transitions to a Suns team, however, which also has been poor defensively.
Phoenix allows 112.6 points per game while scoring just 104.4 itself. No team surrenders more buckets than the Suns, so can Payton manage to make that defense any worse? Perhaps he gets energized playing with his new team and star shooting guard Devin Booker, who is inarguably better than every talent Payton shared the court with while in Orlando. The Suns now have a really intriguing backcourt, and the Magic simply are trying to shed the team of what it had from the Rob Hennigan era (with the obvious exception of Aaron Gordon).
Phoenix will benefit from Payton’s court vision and ability to push the tempo, and it really could be a match made in heaven. That is not to say Phoenix will start winning games en masse, but the realist’s outlook is that a former lottery pick with four triple doubles to his resume could flourish in a high octane offense with the Suns.
