NBA - 719 LA Clippers @ 720 Golden State Warriors

I believe that we are getting a terrific value with the Clippers tonight as they are just 2 points favorites against the Warriors and basically an outright win should seal the deal for us. My projected line for this contest is the Clippers being favored by 2 full ball possessions so we have the proper edge for a Single Dime Play.

Supposedly this is a “letdown” spot for the Clippers as they will play the second game of a back to back series and last night they had a tough home game against the Jazz. However due to the circumstances of yesterday’s loss in which the Clippers blew an interesting lead in the fourth quarter I don’t think that the Clippers will approach lightly this contest as they have the sense of urgency to win to snap their 3-game losing streak.

Regarding a potential physical letdown, only one Clipper’s played logged more than 40 minutes last night (Chris Kaman with 41 minutes) and besides that, the Clippers will play against the Warriors – a non aggressive/soft team in any possible means.

The Warriors had a great chance to snap their huge losing streak against the Mavericks but still once again they failed big in the second half. If we exclude two reserve players that played 6 and 1 minute (Watson and Hunter), Don Nelson used only 6 players in the game and that’s the BIGGEST REASON for such Warriors’ meltdowns late in the game because they are dead tired entering the final quarter! In that game note that the Warriors shot 49.4 % from the field, connected 8 treys, and shot 86.2% from the charity stripe line. They outrebounded the Mavs with an 11-6 edge in offensive boards and they also take care of the ball with 28 Assists and 15 Turnovers for a great team overall performance….still they have lost by 10 points because they just CAN’T DEFEND! They allowed the Mavs to shot 52.1% FG, 12-22 FT, 41 fast break points and allowed the Mavs to go 46 times to the FT line – this kind of lackluster defensive performance will hurt you in every single game!

For tonight Monta Ellis is out and likely C.J. Watson will start in his place. Without Ellis, the Warriors don’t have any offensive weapon that can take control of the game in the final moments. I expect the Clippers to control the boards with Camby and Chris Kaman to have a huge game against the hobbled bodies of Biedrins and Turiaf. Baron Davis missed last night an incredible easy layup late in the game and he will be fired up for tonight against his former team. Take the Clippers in here.

Pick: 3 units (Single Dime Play) on 719 LA Clippers (-2)