L.A. Clippers at Golden State
Time: 9:30 PM CST (TNT)
Spread: LAC -12
Total: 229
Odds c/o 5dimes
The Los Angeles Clippers have won six of its last 10 SU and are 18-13 on the road this year where it faces the Golden State Warriors in NBA action on TNT Tuesday. The Clippers are 12-point favorites in updated odds at 5dimes, with the over/under set at 229 total points according to the pro basketball oddsmakers.
LAC NEWS & NOTES:
The Los Angeles Clippers are 42-19 and trail only the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference as the West’s No. 2 team. The Clippers won six of its last 10 SU. L.A. ranks No. 4 in scoring at 116.1 per game while limiting teams to 109.8, a point differential of +6.3 points.
Considering its No. 3 and No. 4 scorers both come off the bench, this is done in a different fashion. Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell each average 20 and 19 points per game, respectively and do it in 30 minutes a night or less. That enables Kawhi Leonard and Paul George to keep their minutes around the 30-32 range, as well.
Leonard leads the team in minutes at just 32.1 per game. The Clippers utilize a 10-11 man rotation, with several key role players like Patrick Beverley and Ivica Zubac serving their purposes as defenders and sparks. George is averaging 23.5 points, six rebounds, and 3.7 assists as one of three Clippers with a PER over 20. Leonard is super-efficient and the top-three Clippers all shoot 36 percent or better from three.
Leonard averages 26.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game and has appeared in just 33 games due to load management. With the Clippers resplendent depth, it can afford to rest its superstars and cruise to an easy home court advantage in the first round.
GOLDEN ST
The Golden State Warriors are just 15-49 on the season and in the last place in the Pacific division and also in last place in the West. It has gone 3-3 over its last six games. It is, thus far, the worst team in the entire Association, in fact.
This is an unfamiliar territory from a team that had boasted four All-Stars a season ago. Out is Kevin Durant, who signed with the Brooklyn Nets, while the Warriors are also without sharpshooter Klay Thompson. D’Angelo Russell was a dynamite scorer, but the Warriors are also without Stephen Curry for a long period this season due to an injured wrist. Draymond Green is the only one of the Warriors’ top-4 players from a year ago to suit up at this point.
Russell was ultimately dealt for swingman Andrew Wiggins. The jury will remain “out” on that trade for several seasons, but Wiggins is just 24-years-old and could fulfill his massive potential in a Warriors uniform once Curry and Thompson are back in tow.
The next on the list of active scorers though is rookie and second-round pick Eric Paschall. He has been impressive, almost like a more offensive (and of course less defensive), Draymond Green. Paschall is averaging 14.1 points, 4.5, and 1.8 assists per game.
Golden State scores just 106.3 per game. So, with a patched-up roster consisting of a lot of rookies, young talent, discarded reclamation projects (like Willie Cauley-Stein), the Warriors are simply not a team that stacks up to most of the other teams in the Association anymore.
