Clippers vs Lakers Picks and Odds – July 30

• The first night of competitive action in the NBA bubble sees the Lakers and Clippers matchup for the fourth time this season
• Montrezl Harrell and Lou Williams are out, Pat Beverley is questionable for LAC
• Get the odds, betting discussion and a pick below

July 30th is the day NBA fans worldwide have been waiting for. After a lengthy hiatus, the 2019-20 season is back and appropriately the second opening night of the campaign features a Lakers and Clippers matchup.

The two championship contenders have little to play for in these seeding games, but any time they face each other is significant. It is another chance to put a marker down ahead of a possible Western Conference Finals meeting.

There has been movement in the Clippers vs Lakers odds over the last few days. Player availability has influenced the spread, and at the time of writing, FanDuel have the Lakers as 3.5-point favorites.

Los Angeles Clippers vs Los Angeles Lakers Odds

Odds taken Jul. 30th

Notable Absentees

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George are healthy. That’s a nice starting point for Doc Rivers. The loss of their bench duo and the likely absence of Beverley is clearly a major blow to their chances here, however. Ivica Zubac only recently made it to the bubble and logged just 13 minutes in their final scrimmage.

Harrell and Williams, at over 18 points per game each, are by far the third and fourth-highest scorers on the team. No one else averages over 10 per contest. Beverley provides top-tier defense on the perimeter.

With Marcus Morris yet to make a major impact in a Clippers uni, there’s an argument that Rivers could be without his third, fourth and fifth best players.

Having a fully healthy Leonard and George is clearly the most important thing. The Clippers have depth to compensate for losing three integral rotation pieces, but this pushes everyone’s minutes up. On a night when Leonard and George might have been looking to ease back into competitive action, the Clippers’ options beyond them are drastically weakened.

JaMychal Green, Landry Shamet, Reggie Jackson and Joakim Noah will all be playing significant minutes.

Minutes Management Should Play a Factor

Load management has been at the center of NBA discussion all season long. Leonard’s workload has been carefully negotiated, following the blueprint set out by the Toronto Raptors last year. George has been in and out of the team in a similar manner.

👑x 〰️ Mood. 😤 https://t.co/npcyCEDRJy

— LeBron James (@KingJames) July 23, 2020

It has been the greatest contrast between the two LA clubs. Anthony Davis and LeBron James have played substantially more minutes than their Clipper counterparts, and that is part of the reason for the Lakers’ superior record.

Where the Lakers are viewed as a well-oiled machine, the Clippers are still searching for chemistry. Their supposed strongest lineups (some combination of George, Leonard, Harrell, Williams, Morris and Beverley) have barely played together.

Leonard commented about the need to develop habits and chemistry in these seeding games – will they get the chance to do so?

Kawhi Leonard's expectations for these eight regular season games: "We've got to use these games to build some habits and just build team chemistry really."

— Farbod Esnaashari (@Farbod_E) July 29, 2020

The Lakers are looking to bed in JR Smith and Dion Waiters, and have decisions to make in the backcourt, but their core players are more than accustomed to each other at this stage.

Hit the Over

This game is about figuring things out. With a burgeoning rivalry between the two, however, a victory will still be significant for either team, perhaps more so for the Clips given their absentees.

The Lakers are rightly favored, but the -176 on the moneyline isn’t all that appealing given the uncertainty over minutes. Despite two elite defensive units going head-to-head, the over represents good value as players ease their way back. Defensive effort could take a hit.

Pick: Over 215.5 points (-110)