Minnesota Timberwolves at Los Angeles Clippers
Tuesday, 2/28/12, 10:30 PM EST, TV: FSPT
Opening Point Spread: Los Angeles -7
Current Betting Line: Los Angeles -6.5
Opening Total: 195.5
Current Total: 196.5
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Minnesota captured victories in four of its last five games entering the NBA All-Star break and will look to pick up its second victory in as many tries against the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night. “We’ll see if we can keep this thing going,” commented Timberwolves head coach Rick Adelman. The Timberwolves are led by the play of power forward Kevin Love, who has averaged 17.0 points and 12.5 rebounds in his last four games inside the Staples Center in this series. He is fourth in the NBA in scoring 25.0 points and second in averaging 14.0 rebounds per game. Minnesota is 14-5 ATS as an underdog this year.
The Timberwolves have shown to have no advantage at home and on the road, posting an even 10-10 mark in front of their home fans, while going 7-7 when playing away from Minneapolis. Minnesota is still enjoying a tremendous year, reaching the 17 win mark in just 34 games, which was achieved in playing all 82 games during the 2011-12 campaign. Love starts the second half of the season with a league-high 30 double-doubles on the year.
Los Angeles tallied an impressive 103-95 victory over the Denver Nuggets as nine-point home favorites before heading to the All-Star break, but has failed to cover the spread in three consecutive games. The Clippers enter an important stage of the season and have gone 12-4 in games played inside the Staples Center this year. “After the break, that’s when it gets serious,” commented Clippers point guard Chris Paul. He will play a major part in the outcome of this contest, averaging 21.1 points and 10.5 assists in 17 career games versus tonight’s opponent. Los Angeles is 5-7 ATS when playing on three or more days of rest the last two-plus years.
The Clippers will be looking to exact revenge from a 101-98 loss to the Timberwolves as 4.5-point home favorites in their first meeting this season. It’s important to note that the squad played that affair without the services of Paul and starting forward Caron Butler. Los Angeles has won six of the last nine games overall against Minnesota dating back to the 2009-10 campaign. The Clippers have dominated the glass in their last eight contests, out-rebounding opponents by a 389 to 303 margin.
Bettors will likely back the Timberwolves due to their 4-0 ATS mark as a road underdog of 5.0 to 10.5 points, while the home team is 3-9 ATS in the last 12 meetings in this series.
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