Los Angeles Clippers at Indiana Pacers
Tuesday, 3/20/12, 7:00 PM EST, TV: FSIN
Opening Point Spread: Indiana -3
Current Betting Line: Indiana -3.5
Opening Total: 187
Current Total: 187
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Los Angeles heads out on the road for a three-game road trip after closing its six-game homestand with back-to-back wins over the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons. The Clippers were led by All-Star point guard Chris Paul, who scored a combined 42 points on 30 shots in the two contests. “You’d be hard-pressed to find a better guy with the ball late in the game than Chris in this league,” commented Clippers head coach Vinny Del Negro. The squad is 11-10 on the road overall, including a 4-2 mark versus Eastern Conference opponents. Los Angeles is 5-1 ATS as a road underdog.
The Clippers will be playing 20 games in the month of March, which is the most in the NBA for any team in 45 years. Los Angeles will also be playing the opening game of its 12th set of back-to-back games, owning an 8-3 record in the first game and 6-5 mark in the second game. Offensively, the team is scoring 8.8 points per game more in the opening game than the close-out contest.
Indiana dropped both games of a home-and-home series against the New York Knicks, including a 102-88 defeat as four-point home favorites on Saturday. The Pacers have managed to hit the century mark in just two of their last eight games, but the “under” is just 4-4 in that span. “Our offense just isn’t working,” stated Pacers forward Danny Granger. He has managed to score in double figures in 29 of the last 31 games. The team is 13-6 at home this season, including a 4-1 mark versus Western Conference foes. Indiana is 5-11 ATS as a favorite.
The Pacers will be meeting the Clippers just once in this shortened 2011-12 season, as the two franchises have split the season series in each of the past five years. Indiana is 46-28 all-time versus Los Angeles, including a 29-8 mark when playing at home. The locker room is hoping that the acquisition of veteran guard Leandro Barbosa will hope jumpstart the offense, as he comes over from the Toronto Raptors and scored 19 points versus the Clippers as a member of that team on Jan. 22.
Bettors will likely back the Pacers due to the home team covering the last five games in this series, while the Clippers are 0-8 ATS versus Central division opponents.
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