On Tuesday night we will see the Los Angeles Clippers travel to Texas to take on the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of  their series. The game is scheduled for a 9:30 pm start time and it will be televised live on TNT. Currently the odds have San Antonio favored by 11.5 points with the total sitting at 190.5 points for the contest. 

Free Analysis: Fresh off only their third postseason victory in the past 41 years (second since relocating to Los Angeles), there's no time to rest for the Los Angeles Clippers, as they are forced to jump right back into action Tuesday night against the San Antonio Spurs. Los Angeles won a tough seven-game series by taking out Memphis on the road in Sunday’s Game 7, but PF Blake Griffin was limited to just 28 minutes because of a sprained knee. Griffin has averaged 18.0 PPG on 53% FG in the 2012 playoffs, but his rebounding numbers of 6.4 RPG tailed off significantly from his 10.9 RPG during the regular season. PG Chris Paul put together a huge series against Memphis, averaging 20.4 PPG, 7.1 APG, 5.7 RPG and 2.7 SPG. His numbers were even better against the Spurs this season, as he put up 22.3 PPG, 8.7 APG and 2.7 SPG. His matchup with San Antonio’s star PG Tony Parker will be fun to watch. But the Clippers know they won’t win this series solely because of two players. G Mo Williams had a subpar series (9.7 PPG, 38% FG) compared to his regular season (13.2 PPG, 43% FG), but his best game of the year occurred on March 9 in San Antonio when he scored 33 points on 12-of-19 FG (7-of-9 threes).  SF Caron Butler has also a hand injury, but it’s on his non-shooting hand. His numbers were lackluster in the Memphis series (9.3 PPG on 35% FG), but he was solid against the Spurs with 13.0 PPG on 45% FG in the three meetings. Los Angeles will start this series with just one day of rest, but it has been strong in this scenario with a 26-14 record (22-16-2 ATS). The Clippers have also been a decent road team at 18-19 (18-16-3 ATS), getting outscored by just 0.3 PPG for the season. However, San Antonio is an outstanding 30-5 (25-8-2 ATS) at home this season, outscoring these visitors by 12.5 PPG (105.9 to 93.4 PPG). The Spurs are also 12-1 (11-2 ATS) with at least two days rest this season. These clubs met three times during the regular season. The Spurs are led by Parker, who didn’t play when the teams last met. But he did plenty of damage in the other two meetings with 22.0 PPG (55% FG) and 9.5 APG. Parker also dominated the Jazz in the playoffs with 21.0 PPG (50% FG) and 6.5 APG. SG Manu Ginobili shots lights-out against the Clippers this season at 16.0 PPG (57% FG, 9-of-16 threes) and also dished out 5.0 APG. Although he started out the playoffs ice-cold in the first three games (7-of-26 FG, 0-for-8 threes), he exploded in Game 4 of the Utah series with 17 points on 6-of-11 FG (3-of-6 threes). C Tim Duncan shot just 42.5% FG against the Clippers this season, but still managed to put up 12.7 PPG and 9.7 RPG. He’s had a solid playoffs so far too with 14.3 PPG (47% FG), 8.8 RPG, 2.5 APG and 1.8 BPG. With Griffin hurting, the game plan will be to feed Duncan in the post early and often. These clubs met three times during the regular season. The Spurs won the first meeting handily at home, 115-90, and then clinched the season series with a narrow 103-100 win in Los Angeles in February. The Clippers avoided the sweep in the final installment on March 9, crushing the Spurs 120-108 in San Antonio.

Free Pick: I rode the spurs through the Utah series and I'm gonna go with them here as well. The Spurs haven't played in a while so they will be well rested, while the Clippers are off a tough physical 7 game series with Memphis and have had just 1 days rest. Both Paul and Griffin are hurting for the Clippers and they are their only real scoring options. and they will need to score a lot vs a San Antonio team that has averaged 102.3 ppg vs Utah and 105.9 ppg at home this year. The Spurs may come out a bit rusty like OKC did in the first quarter last night, but then they will start to wear a tired Clippers team down and eventually run away with the game in the second half. 

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NBA Free Picks: Los Angeles Clippers at San Antonio Spurs Betting
What NBA bettors need to know about LA Clippers at Spurs on Tuesday (5/15/2012) - Including a free pick from host Marco D'Angelo w/ Pregame.com Pro Stephen Nover.