NBA Betting – Undefeated Clips, Warriors Meet in Oak.
By Zack Garrison in News
Updated: January 17, 2018 at 9:39 am ESTPublished:
Los Angeles Clippers at Golden State Warriors (-7.5, 217.5 o/u)
The early lead in the Pacific Division – and the Western Conference – is on the line tonight as the undefeated Los Angeles Clippers (4-0, 1-0 Away) head to the Bay Area to face the spotless Golden State Warriors (4-0, 2-0 Home) at ORACLE Arena (10:30 PM Eastern).
Last season, the Warriors took the season series 3-1; betting-wise, the teams were both 2-2 ATS.
Los Angeles has beaten the Sacramento Kings (twice), Dallas Mavericks, and Phoenix Suns so far this season, and have an average margin of victory over eight points (107.9 points for versus 99.3 points against per game); yet, they’ve only managed to cover in two of their four contests so far.
The usual suspects have led the way for the Clippers in the early going with power forward Blake Griffin averaging 29.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, and point guard Chris Paul adding 15.3 points to go along with just over eight dimes a night.
But Los Angeles also made a concerted effort to become less top-heavy in the offseason, and the supporting cast is playing its part to a tee so far; JJ Redick (15.0 PPG) and Jamal Crawford (11.8 PPG) are both averaging double-digits, while veteran Paul Pierce is chipping in with seven points and nearly five minutes per night, to go along with solid, veteran leadership.
“It’s good to start the season like this,” center DeAndre Jordan (9.0 PPG, 11.8 RPG) told the Associated Press. “But we’ve got to be able to keep it going and improve with every game, find out which rotations work the best and which units work the best. We’ve got a long season to go and we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”
The Clippers won’t find a bigger challenge than visiting the red-hot Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena. Golden State is not only 4-0 straight up but also against the spread, after thrashing the Rockets, Grizzlies, and Pelicans (twice).
The Warriors are doing it all without head coach Steve Kerr, as well, as the six-time NBA champ (five as a player, one as a coach) takes a leave of absence to deal with a back problem.
The first four games of the year have been nothing but highlights for the Warriors, but their last outing was arguably the best of all. Golden State absolutely manhandled the Memphis Grizzlies (119-69) – ostensibly one of the teams that should challenge them for top spot in the Western Conference. Point guard and reigning NBA MVP Steph Curry led the way with 30 points on the night.
“It’s surprising,” said Curry to the AP. “I don’t remember the last time that’s ever happened to any guys on this team, being on the winning side of a 50-point game.”
Golden State leads the NBA in scoring, averaging 119.0 points per game. The team is also tops in assists, putting up 28.3 per night. The defense, which never gets the attention it deserves thanks to the prolific O, has been terrific also , allowing just 94 PPG (fifth-best in the league).
The spread is currently at 7.5 in favor of the home Warriors. That’s a lot to lay against a very solid team like the Clippers, but LA is just 1-5 ATS in its last six games in Golden State and the Warriors have looked absolutely unstoppable so far. Roll with Curry and company until someone – or something – proves that they can be slowed.
Pick: Warriors -7.5.
(Photo credit: Keith Allison (flickr) “Stephen Curry” [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/]. Photo has been cropped.)
Sports Writer
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.
