BEST IN THE WEST: LOB CITY TRAVELS TO SAN ANTONIO

by TYLER WOGALTER

Last Meeting: The Spurs defeated the Clippers 116-90 in Los Angeles on 2/21/13

Check out Line Information for this game

Two of the best teams in basketball face off in San Antonio as the Los Angeles Clippers battle the Spurs on Friday at 8:30 ET. The Spurs have won five of their last six games and sit atop the Western Conference. With only 11 games to play in the regular season, San Antonio appears to be the favorites to enjoy home court advantage throughout the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Clippers have won three of their last four and have continued scoring the rock with ease. The Clips are firing on all cylinders and look ready to make a splash in the playoffs.

San Antonio is the best team in the Western Conference, and occupies the top seed in the current playoff picture. With a 1 ½ game lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Spurs are the team to beat in the West. The Clippers are currently the 3^rd seed in the West, and trail the 2^nd seeded OKC Thunder by 4 games. The Clips only have a half game lead over the 4^thseeded Denver Nuggets and will need to keep winning ball games if they want to keep their spot in the playoff picture.

Betting Information

The Spurs are 54-17 straight up and 37-32 against the spread on the season. At home, San Antonio is 31-4 SU and 18-15 ATS. Against the total, the Spurs are 39-31 Under and are averaging 104.3 PPG, which is 4th best in the league.

Los Angeles has a record of 49-23 SU and 39-32 ATS. While playing on the road, the Clippers are 21-15 SU and 18-18 ATS. Against the total, Lob City is 39-33 Over on the year and are putting up 100.9 PPG.

Injuries

After missing three games with an injured groin, Clippers guard Chauncey Billups re-aggravated his injury on Wednesday against the Rockets. Billups is listed as day-to-day, but is not expected to play on Friday. The 2004 Finals MVP is averaging 8.2 PPG on the year.

What to watch for

Look for solid ball movement and quick, crisp passes for both teams, as this game features two of the top five teams in assists per game. The Spurs lead the league in assists with 25.1 APG, while the Clippers are averaging 23.5 APG, good for 4^th in the NBA.

Tim Duncan is proving that age is nothing but a number. The 36-year-old veteran has played phenomenal during the Spurs past six games, notching a double-double in five of the contests and averaging 23.6 PPG and 13.5 RPG over that stretch. Watch for Duncan to grab another double-double in this one.

A major reason for the success of the Clippers this season has been the play of Jamal Crawford. Believed by many to be the favorite for the Sixth Man of the Year Award, Crawford has contributed greatly to the winning ways of the Clips this season. Watch for Crawford and his 16.7 PPG to make an impact on Friday.

The pick

With Tim Duncan playing beyond his age, a healthy Tony Parker and Gregg Popovich leading his team into the postseason, it will be a difficult task for Lob City to come into San Antonio and knock off the Spurs. Losing this one will be only the fifth loss at the AT&T Center this season, but I don’t believe that it will happen. This will be a high-flying, fast paced game, but San Antonio will pull away late and take this one, 115-107.

Source: ESPN

THE MAVERICKS NEED WINS TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS: CLIPPERS VS. MAVERICKS

by DAVID THE MAVEN CHICOTSKY

With 12 games left in the regular season, the Mavericks are a couple games back from the 8-spot. They’ll need a win against the Clippers to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Track Line Movement for this game

About the Mavericks:

The Mavs are coming off a win in which they failed to cover against the Utah Jazz. Veteran guard Mike James led the team to victory behind his 7-10 shooting from the field, 3-4 shooting from behind the 3-point arc, 5 assists and 3 rebounds. The Mavericks bench put up an impressive 45 points, led by Vince Carter who had 15 points in 21 minutes. The Mavs have won 3 out of their last 4 games, going 2-2 against the spread. They’re coming off back-to-back home wins (1-1 ATS). With the 8-seed in the Western Conference still up for grabs, look for the Mavs to lay it all on the line for a win. All eyes in Mavs country are on the Lakers as they currently hold the 8-seed. The hate for the Lakers comes all the way from the top of the Mavs’ organization, Mark Cuban. For the sake of the Mavs, they’ll need the Lakers to continue to stumble.

About the Clippers:

The Clippers are coming off a game in which they beat the Nets 101-95 in a game where they were favored by 8 points. Chris Paul had a huge game, scoring 29 points behind 8-16 shooting from the field  – with 11 assists on the night. They’ve won 3 out of their last 4 games, despite punishing bettors by going 1-2-1 during this stretch. With their playoff spot comfortably locked-up, the Clippers don’t have a ton of extra motivation in this game. They’re a solid team that’s stacked with talent – with the luxury of having such a strong bench (see Jamal Crawford just to start).

Betting Information:

The Clippers are 48-22 straight up, 38-31-1 against the spread and 36-34 Over on the year. On the road they are 20-14 SU, 17-17 ATS and 18-16 Under.

The Mavs are 34-36 SU, 41-29 ATS and 42-28 Over on the year. At home they’re 20-14 SU, 18-16 ATS and 21-13 Over.

Click HERE for the Oddsfather’s injury report.

Sources: USA Today, ESPN

TWO OF THE BEST OF THE WESTERN CONFERENCE: GRIZZLIES VS. CLIPPERS

by MICHAELANGELO MILLER

Line Breakdown

The Memphis Grizzlies are 36-25 against the spread, going 18-10 ATS while on the road and have gone 34-25-2 Under. The Los Angeles Clippers are 37-28 ATS, 20-12 ATS at home and have posted a 34-30-1 Over record against the total.

Injuries

Grizzlies forward, Darrell Arthur, will be questionable for the game. The Clippers will continue to be without Trey Thompkins (F), who is suffering from a knee injury. Fellow teammates, Eric Bledsoe (G) and Caron Butler (F) are likely to miss the game as well for the Clippers with a calf and elbow injury respectively.

Match-Up

The Grizzlies are no stranger to the Clippers as the two teams have faced each other twice before. In their last contest, the Grizzlies lost handedly, 99-73. The Clippers weren’t even at full strength as they were without Chris Paul (PG) in the game. They are 2-0 in this match-up and with two games left in the series, they’d like nothing more than to sweep the Grizzlies in the regular season. However, Memphis isn’t going to just roll over and let that happen. The Grizzlies have won 4 straight games and that could turn into 5 straight if they manage to beat the Portland Trailblazers.

A more interesting statistic is that in their last 13 games, the Grizzlies have only lost one time. They certainly have a lot of momentum carrying them into the Clippers game. Look for Memphis to rely on Zach Randolph (PF) who is averaging 15.7 points per game and 11.6 rebounds per game. As a team, the Grizzlies are averaging 93.7 PPG, 42.8 RPG, 21.3 assists per game and they have allowed only 89.4 PPG to opponents, which is best in the NBA.

The Clippers are considered one of the best teams in the NBA this season and they are certainly the best team in Los Angeles, much to the dismay of Laker fans around the world. They know how important a match-up like this is especially with Memphis nipping at their heels in the standings. Look for the Clippers to rely on the tandem of Chris Paul (PG, averaging 7 APG) and Blake Griffin (PF, averaging 18 PPG / 8 RPG) to pull them through this game and to represent the aptly named ‘Lob City’ moniker. Collectively, the Clippers are averaging 101.1 PPG, 41.5 RPG, 23.7 APG and are allowing 94.4 PPG to opposing teams.

Sources: ESPN

HATE NOT LOVE: CLIPPERS (38-17) VS. LAKERS (25-28)

by LUCAS COMBS

Previous Meeting (s): The Clippers have defeated the Lakers twice this season – on November 2^nd as the road team, 105-95 and on January 4^th as the home team 107-102.

When: Thurs, February 13^th at 730 PM PT

Where: Staples Center, LA, California

Line: -3 Clippers, Total: 200

Line Movement

Rivalry Match-Up

Home is where the heart is will be the theme in Thursday’s Valentine’s Day rivalry at the Staples Center between the Clippers and Lakers of Los Angeles. The Clippers scored 46 points in the first quarter and cruised to a 106-96 victory over the Houston Rockets late Wednesday night. Chauncey Billups, who is being eased back into the starting line-up after recovering from an ACL injury had his best game of the season with 19 points in just 20 minutes of action. The Clippers will need to get a good night’s sleep for the next day Valentine showdown with the hated Lakers.

The Lakers defeated the Phoenix Suns Tuesday despite getting just 4 points from Kobe Bryant. If Bryant doesn’t score more than 4 points Thursday night, the Lakers will not only get knifed like a South Side Crip, but Kobe might start blaming Paul Gasol for being a wuss and not playing through injury.

Betting Information

Against the spread, the Lakers are just 1-3 ATS in their last 4 contests and a dismal 21-32 ATS overall (12-14 ATS in home games). The Lakers are also a porous 4-11 ATS as an underdog and 12-16 ATS versus teams with winning records. The Clippers, meanwhile, are 30-25 ATS overall (14-15 ATS in road games). Concerning the total, the Lakers are 10-4 Over as an underdog (26-26 overall, 14-11 Under in home games). The Clippers are 23-20 ATS as a favorite (28-25 Over overall, 15-14 Under on the road).

Glit and Glamor

The less glamorous Clippers have owned the glittery prima donna Lakers as of late, defeating the Lakers both times the teams faced off this season. The outcomes of the two games between the Clippers and the Lakers are microcosms of how the season has gone for each team. The Clippers have proven they are one of the league’s best, and are now looking to win the division and secure a #1 seed. The Lakers, on the other hand, continue to be inconsistent. Many blame the Lakers’ problems on injuries, but what about the Clippers’ injury problems? The Clippers had to go the first half of the season without Chauncey Billups. Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and Jamal Crawford have all missed time with injuries. Boo-hoo Lakers. The Lakers do have one semi-objective believer, recently fired coach Mike Brown, who thinks the Lakers turnaround is “just a matter of time.” Dream big.

Injury Report

Source: ESPN

NBA: CLIPPERS (35-16) AT MIAMI (32-14)

by LUCAS COMBS

Last Meeting: 11/14 – The Clippers defeated the Heat in LA, 107-100.

Line Movement

When: Friday, February 8^th at 5PM PT

Where: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida

The Match-Up

Lebron James and Dwayne Wade combined for 63 points Wednesday as the Heat held off a streaking Houston Rockets squad 114-106. Chris Paul (knee bruise), Chauncey Billups (ACL), Jamal Crawford (sore shoulder) and Blake Griffin (hamstring) are all listed as questionable for the Clippers Friday. That means the “other” LA basketball team could be without (what looks like) their four best players against arguably the best team in the league. The Clippers snapped a 3 game losing skid Wednesday in Orlando, winning 86-76.

Betting Information

Against the spread, Miami is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games and has only lost two games in nearly a month. The Heat are 5-2 ATS against Pacific division opponents, but 22-24 ATS overall (12-11 ATS at home). The LA Clippers are 12-7 ATS versus teams with winning records but 12-14 ATS on the road (28-23 ATS overall). LA is 1-3 ATS in their last 4 games.

Concerning the total, Miami is 24-22 Under (12-11 Over at home) and the Clippers are 26-24 Over (14-12 Under on the road). LA is 10-3 Over versus teams that score 99 points or more.

“We’ve got to get healthy”

Chris Paul expects this year’s Clippers squad to win a championship. But the Clippers won’t sniff a championship, unless the Clippers get healthy.

Injury Report

Source: Sports Illustrated