Clippers vs Nuggets Odds and Picks

• The Los Angeles Clippers are 1.5-point road favorites over the Denver Nuggets on Christmas Day (Dec. 25, 10:30 pm EST)
• LAC defeated the defending champion Lakers on Opening night, while Denver fell to Sacramento in OT in its season debut
• See below for analysis, odds and a betting prediction

Revenge will be on the minds of the Los Angeles Clippers on Christmas Day (Dec. 25, 10:30 pm EST) when they travel to Denver to battle the Nuggets.

LAC blew a 3-1 series lead to Denver in the second round of the playoffs a little more than three months ago, ruining a potential Western Conference Finals showdown with the Lakers. Both of these teams are expected to finish near the top of the standings in the West, so it’s little surprise the opening line for this matchup is so tight.

Clippers vs Nuggets Odds

Odds taken Dec. 24th at FanDuel.

The Clippers are currently a 1.5-point favorite in a game that features a total of 224. LAC defeated the defending champs 116-109 on Opening night, while the Nuggets fell to the Sacramento Kings 124-122 in OT on Wednesday.

Denver Shocked by Sacramento

Denver’s loss to Sacramento came on its home court as 7.5-point favorites. Nikola Jokic racked up a triple-double, but committed a costly offensive foul in the final moments of regulation, and then had the ball stolen from him with 2.6 seconds left in OT which led to the winning bucket.

BUDDY HIELD. AT THE BUZZER. GAME. pic.twitter.com/Xz9UDYWc6c

— Kings on NBCS (@NBCSKings) December 24, 2020

Last season’s breakout star Jamal Murray was a colossal disappointment, missing all but one of his nine field goal attempts, and finishing with just 9 points. The Nuggets were ice cold from 3, shooting just 27.6%, and were dominated on the glass.

Jamal Murray in the L:

9 PTS – 1/9 FGM – 0/5 3PM – 2 Turnovers pic.twitter.com/4UQoPPYOj1

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) December 24, 2020

The poor shooting performance is a far cry from what they accomplished during their improbable comeback last fall versus the Clippers. Over the final three games of that series, Denver shot 50.4% from the field and 41.5% from 3. They’ll need to post similar numbers to that if they want to hang with LAC on Christmas.

Retooled and Ready to Roll

With a new head coach (Ty Lue) and a few key new additions (Serge Ibaka, Nicolas Batum and Luke Kennard), the Clippers opened the season with a dominant victory over the Lakers. $190 million dollar man Paul George led the way with 33 points, including 26 in the second half, while Kawhi Leonard chipped in 26 points.

25 PTS / 3 AST / 2 STL@kawhileonard was active on both ends of the floor in the season opener. pic.twitter.com/o4FDMyIYu5

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) December 23, 2020

LAC never trailed versus the champs, knocking down 47.3% of their looks, including 35% from beyond the arc. They won the turnover battle and dominated in the paint, building a lead as large as 22 points at one point.

With victory well in hand, they were able to keep Kawhi and PG-13’s minutes to the mid-30’s, preserving them for their Christmas Day meeting with the Nuggets.

LA Clips Nuggets

There were concerns about Murray’s sluggish start in the preseason, and those came to fruition in Denver’s debut. The Nuggets cannot compete with this loaded Clippers roster without Murray playing at an elite level, and until we see it from him, I can’t back Denver.

jamal murray without the bubble pic.twitter.com/94GjsipmAA

— αмуα🎄 (@braidedsteph) December 24, 2020

The Clippers meanwhile will be playing with a chip on their shoulder after last season’s playoff debacle, and we can expect a similar version of Kawhi that we saw for the first six games of that series. He averaged 26 points and 9 boards over that stretch, and there wasn’t a single player on the Nuggets roster that could guard him.

Pick: LA Clippers -1.5 (-110)