LeBron James showcased great confidence saying he has a chance “until you stomp me out, cut my head off, bury me 12 feet under.” And the Los Angeles Lakers need that to be true as they enter a city of mediocrity matchup as the visitors against the Clippers at 10 p.m. ET Thursday.
If the season ended today, they’d meet at Crypto.com Arena for a play-in matchup. The Clippers (33-31) would be the hosts despite not having Kawhi Leonard this season and Paul George missing a significant amount of time with an elbow injury. Like their counterparts, the Lakers (27-34) have had their fair share of injuries, but their veteran group hasn’t used their experience to climb the standings.
The Clippers are favored by three points with an over/under of 218, which was the opening line at the time of this writing.
Clippers go 3-and-D
The Clippers have had a great showing despite injuries to their stars. They are ninth in the NBA defensively, allowing 107.3 points per contest. They force teams to shoot 44.5% from the floor (sixth) and 33.8% on 3-pointers (seventh). Offensively they hit 36.3% of 3-point attempts, ranking fourth.
Those metrics are what has allowed the Clippers to stay in the playoff chase while short-handed. That and veteran experience. Without George and Norman Powell, who was acquired in a deal with Portland, former Pistons Reggie Jackson, Marcus Morris Sr., and Luke Kennard lead the way.
Jackson is scoring 16.7 points per game to go with 4.6 assists per game, which is second to George. Morris is at 16.0 points per game and is hitting 3-pointers at a 39% clip. Kennard is a true sharpshooter at 44.4% from 3-point range and scoring 11.6 per contest.
Lakers to improve?
If LeBron is serious about turning it around, Thursday would go a long way in building continuity. Los Angeles added Russell Westbrook, who has been the most durable player and is averaging 18.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game, but it largely hasn’t mattered.
He hasn’t been able to carry the team with Anthony Davis out and LeBron in and out of the lineup. James in Year 19 is putting up MVP-caliber numbers at 28.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game.
Davis isn’t expected back until late March, but Talen Horton-Tucker is probable, Avery Bradley questionable, and the additions of D.J. Augustin and Wenyen Gabriel feel like a concerted effort to improve.
The Lakers are 13th offensively, scoring 110.4 points per game but give up 112.4 per contest (24th in the league).
Betting Prediction
The Clippers are looking to sweep the Lakers out of Los Angeles this season with win margins of four, three, and one. It’s sure to be a tightly contested game, as the line would indicate.
The Lakers are 26-34-1 against the spread and 32-28-1 on over/unders. They are 18-17 at Crypto.com Arena, including the one loss to the Clippers, who are 20-13 in the same venue.
For the season, the Clippers are 32-32 against the spread and 30-33-1 on over/unders.
The way these games have played out, it is a tricky line, especially with LeBron looking to prove a point. But the Clippers are the better team, and we’ll lay the three.
100% up to $3,000 Bonus
Bovada is our most recommended ONLINE CASINO and POKER ROOM for US players with excellent deposit options. Get your 100% signup bonus today.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.