Round 2 of the NBA Playoffs gets underway on Monday night and we will see Los Angeles Clippers travel to Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in game 1 of their best-of seven series. The game has a start time of 9:30 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on TNT. Vegas odds have the Thunder listed as 5 point favorites, while the total sits at 212.
Stat Packs: The LA Clippers came into the playoffs as the 3rd seed and they shook off some inconsistent play and the Donald Sterling distraction to win their opening series vs the Warriors in 7 games. The Clippers have now won 24 of their last 32 games and they have gone 24-20 on the road this year. The Clippers are also 13-5 ATS in their last 18 games in Oklahoma City. Offensively they came into the playoffs as the top scoring team in the league and they come into this one as the 3rd ranked scoring offense in the playoffs, averaging 110.9 ppg so far. In the playoffs, Blake Griffin leads the offense with 23.3 ppg, while Chris Paul (17.4 ppg), Jamal Crawford (16.7 ppg), JJ Reddick (14.3 ppg) and DeAndre Jordan (12.1 ppg) also average in double figures for the Clippers. Hordan leads the team in rebounding (15.1 rpg), while Chris Paul leads them in assists (9.0 apg). Defensively the Clippers allowed 101.0 ppg during the regular season, but vs the Warriors they allowed 106.4 ppg.
The Oklahoma City Thunder also went 7 games in their opening round series vs Memphis. It was a bit of sweet revenge for the Thunder as they were taken out by the Grizzlies in last years playoffs. The Thunder have gone 36-9 SU at home for the year, but they are just 5-13 ATS in their last 18 home games vs the Clippers. The Thunder have averaged 106.2 ppg on the year, and they scored a solid 102.1 ppg in their opening series vs Memphis. In the playoffs, Kevin Durant leads the team in scoring, averaging 29.9 ppg, while Russell Westbrook is second, at 25.6 ppg and he leads the team in rebounding at 9.7 rpg. Serge Ibaka (13.0 ppg) and Reggie Jackson (12.1 ppg) round out the double digit scorers on the team. Serge Ibaka has blocked 2.8 spg. Defensively the Thunder have allowed 99.8 ppg (12th) on 43.6% shooting for the year, and in their series vs the Grizzlies they allowed just 96.7 ppg on 41.7% shooting.
Pick: I will go with the Clippers in this one. LA has had good success vs the Thunder in this building, taking 13 of the last 18 ATS. The Thunder do have the edge on defense, but the Clippers get the edge on offense and i feel that will be enough for them to keep this one close. Two very evenly matched teams and another edge I have going to the the Clippers is the coaching edge of Rivers over Brooks. This one should be decided by a basket.
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