Thursday night NBA and we will see the San Antonio Spurs travel to the Staples Center to take on the Los Angeles Clippers. The game has a start time of 10:30 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on TNT. Current Vegas betting odds have the Spurs listed as 3 point favorites, while the total is set at 203.
Analysis: The San Antonio Spurs had a pretty mediocre 1st half of the season by their standard as they are just 34-19 on the year, which puts them in 4th place in the Southwest Division and if the playoffs started today they would be a number 7 seed. This is a team that is used to winning the Southwest and being a number 1 or two seed in this West. San Antonio has gone 13-5 ATS in the last 18 meetings in Los Angeles, but just 3-7-1 ATS in their last 11 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game. The Spurs have been a rather average offensive team this year, ranking 14th in scoring (100.7 ppg), 13th in shooting, 6th in 3 point shooting and 11th in FT shooting. The defense for this team has been very good as they come in ranked 3rd in points allowed (96.7 ppg), 10th in defensive FG% and 19th in 3 point defense.
The Los Angeles Clippers come in at 35-19 on the year overall, including a solid 21-7 at home. The Clippers are in 2nd place in the Pacific Division and if the playoffs started today they would be a 6th seed in the West. They do hold a slim half a game lead over the Spurs in the Western Conference playoff standings, so that does make this game rather important for both teams. LA has gone 4-1 ATS in their last 5 vs. the Southwest Division, but just 8-20 ATS in their last 28 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game. The Clippers has been a very good offensive team this year, ranking 2nd in scoring (106.7 ppg), 2nd in shooting, 5th in 3 point shooting and 24th in FT shooting. Defensively the Clippers have been less than average, ranking 21st in points allowed (100.7 ppg), 17th in defensive FG% and 10th in 3 point defense.
Pick: Going with the Under in this game. Both teams should be rusty for this one coming off the long break and that should really keep the scoring down. The Spurs were not good on offense heading into the break as they averaged just 97.8 ppg prior to the layoff, but one this they have done well of late and for the whole year is play solid defense as the have allowed just 91 pg in their last 5 games and just 94.9 ppg on the road. The Clippers have been an excellent offensive team this year, but I just don't see that continuing vs this defense, plus I also don't expect the Spurs to let the Clipps play at the pace they want. The under is 21-7-1 the last 29 meetings in LA, while the Under is 36-16 in the Clippers last 52 on Thursday and 6-1 in the Spurs last 7 road games vs. a team with a winning home record. I look for this one to be played in the lower 190s.
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Handicapping Tips: NBA Betting
Bryan Leonard and Steve Fezzik, from Pregame.com discuss some handicapping tips for betting the NBA.