Golden St. at L.A. Clippers
Time: 9:30 PM CT, ESPN
Spread: LAC -6
Total: 241.5
Odds c/o 5dimes
GSW
Though Golden State has won its past six, the Warriors are not where it hoped it would be as this season has reached its midway point. Perhaps real momentum is now building with the team hopping into the lead in the Western Conference standings. With 31 wins, the Warriors are still on pace for a 50-win season, but this is a team just two seasons removed from the most winning season in NBA history. Where it has gone wrong is difficult to pinpoint, but chemistry issues, particularly those between Kevin Durant and Draymond Green, seem at least partly to blame.
Injuries to Stephen Curry have also played their role in the Warriors. Whatever the reasons, the demise is mostly over-stated because this is a team still sitting No. 2 in the West on the verge of adding a perennial Allstar to its starting lineup. Whatever form Cousins may or may not be in, this is still a team with immense talent, and Cousins will not have to work hard to get his shots. After all, the Warriors will then be starting five All-Stars, even with whatever existing chemistry issues may or may not even exist.
Curry and Durant have still been outstanding this season, even if Green has maligned Durant for his attitude on multitudes of occasions. Curry is tallying 28.9 points per game and Durant is just b behind him at 28.4. Klay Thompson still has been cooking with his 21.6 points per game. Perhaps the biggest finger could be pointed at Green himself, whose defensive efforts have fallen off as his facilitation on offense has become just as dicey. Green averages under eight points per game and is good for “only” 6.8 assists per night.
His role as point-forward appears to be changing, as does this Warriors team, but it is unclear how deep those effects may run, as it is equally unclear whether Durant will re-sign with the team or head elsewhere due to the friction that has already been a problem. And therein lies the rub with dynasties: The only thing that can often derail them is internal issues, but yes, those have inevitably arisen in Golden State, and to see the Warriors trail the Nuggets in the standings is as odd as it was predictable. It was also just as predictable that the Warriors would catch fire and pass them before the All-Star break if we are being honest about things.
Ultimately, there is too much talent to question this team’s potential as a repeating Conference champion, but without some cohesion with its lineup and resolution of some defensive issues, the Warriors could be upset in the postseason. It will have done so, to itself, almost.
LAC
The L.A. Clippers are 24-20 but have lost its last four heading into tonight’s game. The Clippers have a strange assortment of players that do not seem to really fit together, but there is no discounting the massive collection of talent on the team.
Montrezl Harrell has become a major contributor after coming out as a second-round pick of the Houston Rockets. Harrell has averaged 15.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game in just 25.5 minutes a night. Thought originally to be undersized, he has made up with for it with his massive wingspan, athleticism, and with his energy.
Lou Williams is still a bucket-getter, and he is averaging 18.7 points per game.
But the Clippers leader has been Tobias Harris, who has basically stepped into the same role once occupied by superstar Blake Griffin. Harris is leading the team at 20 points per game while adding eight rebounds per game, and just over two assists. Danilo Galinari disappears at times, but when he is locked in he is one of the best shooting forwards in the league. Gallo is averaging 19.4 points while shooting 45 percent from the floor and an outstanding 45 percent on his 5.5 three-pointers per game.
The Clippers “only” attempt 24.7 threes per game, but it connects on 39 percent of those while shooting 47 percent from the floor overall. For such a seemingly strange collection of talent, the Clippers are in the playoff race early and should find its way into the postseason.
