Wednesday night in the NBA will see the battle for Los Angeles take place as the Los Angeles Clippers visit the Los Angeles Lakers. The game is scheduled for a 10:30 pm tipoff and will be televised live on locally. Currently the Lakers are favored by 3.5 points with the total being set at 186.5 for this game.

Free Analysis: With Chris Paul leading the way, the Los Angeles Clippers prevailed in their first game against the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this month. That's also the last time Paul took the court. The Clippers are hoping to have Paul available for Wednesday night's rematch as they try to maintain sole possession of the Pacific Division lead by handing the struggling Lakers a fourth straight defeat. Paul has been a Lakers killer. He had 33 points on 12-of-22 shooting and six assists in the teams’ first meeting of the year, and over the past six seasons is averaging 21.9 PPG on 50.2% shooting and 12.1 APG against the Lakers. Since returning from a foot injury of his own PG Mo Williams has absolutely lit it up over three games without Paul, averaging 25.7 PPG on 64.4% shooting from the field and 61.5% shooting from three. It’s helped make up for mini-slumps from PF Blake Griffin (21.0 PPG, 11.5 RPG), who’s averaging just 17.2 PPG on 47.1% shooting with Paul out and G Chauncey Billups (15.8 PPG, 4.4 APG), who’s averaging 15.2 PPG on 31.9% shooting since Paul went down. getting Paul back will only help this team, but he still may not be at 100% so his minutes could be limited. Griffin has scored 22 points in each of his last three overall matchups, while Paul has averaged 12.3 points - 6.4 fewer than his career mark - in his past three road games against the Lakers. The Clippers haven't won consecutive contests against the Lakers since the final two meetings of the 2006-07 season. The Lakers (10-8) will try to avoid dropping a fourth straight game for the first time since Dallas swept them out of the Western Conference playoffs in May. They had a nine-game home win streak snapped Sunday, blowing a late three-point lead in a 98-96 loss to Indiana. They have also failed to reach 100 points for the 11th straight game, the franchise's longest streak since a 12-game stretch Jan. 12-Feb. 2, 2004. The Lakers, though, haven't been frustrated often lately in their designated home matchups with the Clippers, having won eight in a row. Bryant has scored 30 or more points in three of the past four, including 37 during the game in March. His 31.3-point average against the Clippers over the last three seasons is his third-highest versus any opponent. Pau Gasol has provided at least 20 points in each of the past three home games against the Lakers' co-tenants, while Andrew Bynum has averaged 20.0 points and 12.6 boards in the last eight games he's played in the series.The trio of SG Kobe Bryant (30.5 PPG), PF Paul Gasol (15.8 PPG, 9.3 RPG) and C Andrew Bynum (15.9 PPG, 13.2 RPG) is getting little offensive help during this recent slide. They’re averaging 29.0 PPG, 15.7 PPG and 13.7 PPG respectively, but no one else on the team is scoring more than 6.7 PPG over the Lakers’ past three, while the team has averaged 87.7 PPG on 40.7% shooting in those games. 

Free Pick: The Lakers are not a team that likes to run and they really have had problems scoring this year, as they have averaged just 92.3 ppg overall and have hit the century mark just once this whole season, while they have averaged just 87.7 ppg in their last 3 and they are the worst 3pt shooting team in the league (25.6%) Defense though has not been a problem for this team as they have allowed just 90.5 ppg on 40.4% shotting overall, while at home, where they use  blackout lighting to create a different backdrop for shooters, they have allowed just 88.5 ppg on 40.2% shooting. Here's a good example of how that lighting affects teams. Both teams play in the same building, but in the Clippers 7 games as the home team they have hit 44.1% of their field goals and 36.7% of their threes, but just 41.5% of their shots and 29.8% of their threes in their last 6 games as a visitor. The Clippers have struggled to score on the road as they have averaged just 92.8 ppg on 41.5% shooting overall and 29.1% from long range. The recent offensive struggles by the Lakers, coupled with their strong defensive play at home should keep the scoring down in this one.

Free Picks: Trailblazers at Warriors Betting
http://PregameVideos.com - Horrible scheduling spot for Blazers and Stephen Curry back from injury for Warriors plus other factors NBA bettors need to know about Trailblazers at Warriors (Wednesday, January 25, 2012) from Pregame.com - Including predictions from Stephen Nover and analysis from host Marco D'Angelo.