Golden State Warriors vs. Los Angeles Clippers Prediction, NBA Odds
The Warriors opened this week’s home-and-home series against LA with a 120-114 road victory on Thursday night, but have lost four of five on the road during a dismal 4-9 straight up run that has dumped them into 10th place in the conference standings. With Thursday defeat, the Clippers have now lost nine of their past 14 contests, including three of five at home, and enter Saturday’s action trailing the Dubs by a half-game in the standings.
Winners in three straight home dates with Golden State, the Clippers are listed as 5.5-point favourites on the Saturday NBA odds. The Warriors trail as +170 underdogs on the NBA moneyline, and the total is pegged at 229.5.
Warriors vs. Clippers NBA Betting Odds
Home teams have largely dominated when these clubs meet, going 10-1 SU in their past 11 matchups, and covering in each of their past seven clashes. However, the Clippers have enjoyed little benefit from home cooking, claiming the win in just three of five as home chalk while going 1-4 against the spread. And while LA has generated a respectable 5-3 SU record over its past eight games, the club has seen two of those victories come against the bottom-feeding San Antonio Spurs. Beset by injuries, the Warriors have failed to record consecutive wins over the past month, but are undefeated against the spread this season when pegged as underdogs by more than three points.
Golden State Warriors
The Warriors rose to the occasion in Thursday’s victory over LA despite the absence of Chris Paul and Andrew Wiggins. Paul remains out until at least next week due to a leg contusion, and Wiggins remains questionable as he nurses a finger injury. The club also remains without the services of Gary Payton II, who suffered a calf injury in Tuesday’s 124-123 loss in Sacramento. But even shorthanded, the Splash Brothers managed to carry this team to victory. Stephen Curry led the way with 26 points and eight assists. Klay Thompson put this team on his back in the fourth quarter, dropping 10 straight buckets to finish the night with 22 points. Averaging 20 points per game over his past five outings, Thompson is listed as a -120 bet on the NBA player props to top 18.5 points. Injuries have also given rookie Brandin Podziemski a chance to shine. Selected 19th overall in this year’s NBA Draft, Podziemski stepped up on Thursday, playing 31 minutes and tallying a team-high eight rebounds.
Los Angeles Clippers
A healthy lineup has done little to help the Clippers produce consistent results, with their mid-November 3-0 run that featured two wins over the Spurs marking their only successful run since topping San Antonio and Orlando in consecutive home games back in late October. The squad’s top scorer Paul George has particularly struggled, averaging just 13.3 points over the past three games while hitting just 30.6% from the floor over that stretch. Fortunately, Kawhi Leonard has started to heat up. The former Toronto Raptors hero has emerged as the Clippers top shooter in each of the past three games, averaging 29.3 points, and has also averaged 7.6 boards over his past five contests. That recent surge adds value to the -120 odds of Leonard topping 30.5 points+rebounds on Saturday. Big man Ivica Zubac recorded his third double-double in four games on Thursday night, but has accomplished the feat in just three of eight home games to date.
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