Round 2 of the NBA Playoffs continues on Tuesday night and we will see the Los Angeles Clippers travel to the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in game 5 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 5.5 point favorites, while the total sits at 213.5.
Stat Packs: The LA Clippers took game 1 of this series and then lost the next two, but were able to make a huge comeback in game 4 to even the series at 2 games apiece. The Clippers have now won 26 of their last 35 games and they are 25-21 on the road this year. Offensively they came into the playoffs as the top scoring team in the league and they are the top scoring remaining team in the post season, averaging 110.7 ppg, while shooting 46.8% from the field. In the playoffs, Blake Griffin leads the offense with 23.6 ppg, while Chris Paul (19.5 ppg), Jamal Crawford (16.3 ppg), JJ Reddick (12.8 ppg) and DeAndre Jordan (10.5 ppg) also average in double figures for the Clippers. Jordan leads the team in rebounding (13.1 rpg), while Chris Paul has led them in assists at 10 apg. Defensively the Clippers have allowed 101.4 ppg on 44.3% shooting for the year overall but in the playoffs it has not been good for them, as they have allowed 107.2 ppg on 47.1% shooting.
After getting crushed at home in game 1 of this series, the Oklahoma City Thunder then reeled off two straight wins and had a 16 point lead late in game 4, but then a collapse happened and they now head back home with the series tied at 2 games apiece. Oklahoma City has averaged 106.2 ppg on 47.1% shooting for the year overall, while in the playoffs they have put up 104.5 ppg on 45.5% shooting. In the post-season, Kevin Durant leads the team in scoring with an average of 31.1 ppg, while Russell Westbrook is second, at 26.3 ppg. Serge Ibaka (13.2 ppg) and Reggie Jackson (10.6 ppg) round out the double digit scorers on the team. Durant leads the team rebounding (8.9), while Westbrook leads them in assists (8.3) and Serge Ibaka has collected 2.4 blocks per game. Defensively the Thunder allowed just 99.8 ppg on 43.6% shooting for the year and in the playoffs they have allowed 101.2 ppg on 43.4% shooting.
Pick: I will go with the Under in this game. The series overall this year has been high scoring, but game 4 did produce just 200 points and the further we go into this series the more defense should be played. The Thunder have been decent on defense at home this year, as they have allowed just 99.3 ppg on their home floor for the year. The Clippers have allowed 102.4 ppg on the road this year, but teams have shot just 44.9% vs them away from home. Game 5's are very important, especially when a series is tied at 2 games apiece, like this one is and that should lead to a bit of a slower paced game. This one should be played under 205 points again.
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