NBA Betting – Brooklyn Nets at Los Angeles Clippers
Brooklyn Nets at Los Angeles Clippers (-11.5, 201.5 o/u)
On paper, the Los Angeles Clippers shouldn’t have much trouble dispatching the Deron Williams-less Brooklyn Nets tonight at the Staples Center (10:30 p.m. Eastern). But the Washington Wizards were probably thinking something along those lines last Friday when the Nets left D.C. with a massive 102-80 upset.
The Clippers are 28-14 on the year and have won seven of their last ten. Los Angeles’ dynamic duo of Blake Griffin and Chris Paul are producing 40.6 points, 12.2 rebounds, and 14.6 assists per game, and have the Clips sitting fourth in the NBA in scoring (106.7 PPG).
On the other side, the Brooklyn Nets are just 18-24, and have really struggled since Williams went down in early January. The team is just 2-6 since losing its star point guard to a rib injury. Without Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez will need to produce more in order to give the Nets a chance against Griffin and Paul.
That’s exactly what happened in the Nets most recent game, a 103-100 road upset over the Sacramento Kings. Lopez scored 22 points off the bench and also had six blocks, while Johnson added 16 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.
Looking at the trends, the Clippers have lost six of the last ten to Brooklyn and are 0-5 ATS in the last five against the Nets. The Clippers are heavy 11.5-point favorites for tonight’s game (with the over/under at 201.5). The trends indicate that 11.5 may be too many, even against the injured Nets.
(Photo credit: Keith Allison (flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode]. Photo has been cropped.)
Zack is a tour guide whose favorite sports are football, baseball, and golf. He enjoys giving obnoxious commentary during games and hopes to some day write a book about sports. His favorite underdog victory was the Diamondbacks beating the Yankees in game 7 of the World Series.
