It’s the part two of the wrestle for Los Angeles, and this time the Staples Center will be painted in red and blue, as the Clippers hold the distinction of being the host of the game. They also won the first meeting with the in-town rival Lakers, but a lot has changed since, so the outcome may be different as well.
Lakers at Clippers
Spread: L.A. Clippers -4.5 (-110) at BetDSI Sportsbook
Total: o/u 215 points (-110)
The Lakers defense costs them another game
Four days off since the loss to Sacramento Kings was a good chance for the coaching staff to get some messages across. The Lakers are simply too inconsistent. Sure, there was the good win against Denver, followed by taking care of business when the Bulls came to L.A. Losses to the Suns and the Kings sandwiched those wins.
The Kings used a 13-0 run at the end of first quarter to pull ahead and two sides played even ball the rest of the night. Lakers lost 102-113, but they never threatened. With three minutes to go, they were down 86-106, hitting late threes when it didn’t matter. The Lakers actually shot well, 50 percent on field goals for the game, and 52 percent on threes, but the defensive effort and the fight on the glass weren’t there. Ball had 11 points and 11 assists, hitting three threes, but also committing 4 turnovers and missing both free throws. KCP lead with 20 points, with the majority of it coming from behind the three-point line as well (4-of-6 3PTs), and Kuzma scored 17 points, hitting another three treys. Ingram, Randle, and Clarkson also scored in double figures. It wasn’t enough, as Brook Lopez was MIA with 4 points and 1 rebound, and Bogut, Zubac or the small ball would cost the LA Lakers on the rebounding battle – they allowed 13 more possessions to the Kings by not cleaning up the missed shots. As the Kings found their rhythm against poor defense already, it proved to be costly. The Lakers allowed their opponents to shoot 55.3 percent from the field, and 47.6 percent for 3-pt range, unable to match their big guys, Randolph and Cauley-Stein.
Larry Nance Jr. recovered from a broken hand, and after he went through a full practice, coach Walton stated that he’ll return to take his starter’s spot on Monday and that he can’t see why he wouldn’t. Kuzma was playing very well in his stead and is meshing much better with Ball, so this is a rather odd decision by the coaching staff.
Place: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Date/Time: Monday, November 27th, 2017. 10:30 PM ET
TV Coverage: Sportsnet One
The Clippers climb back from early deficit in Sacramento
Winning the last two games on the 5-game road trip and after losing 8 consecutive games surely lifted the Clippers spirits, despite the fact that good NBA teams don’t dwell on beating the Hawks and the Kings, and especially not in such unconvincing manner.
The Clippers took advantage of Kings’ poor shooting in the third, turning 18-points deficit to a slim lead by winning the quarter 29-10. They hit 6 of their first seven attempts from three-point range in the second half, most of them by Lou Williams, and responded to the Kings run with more (Wes Johnson). Meanwhile, Sacramento didn’t convert a shot from the floor for almost 7 minutes, as their starting lineup sputtered again. The Kings rode blistering 58.5 percent shooting from the floor to the halftime lead, so the break couldn’t have come at a better time for the Clippers. Williams finished with 18 points and 8 assists in another start, while Griffin hit 33 points on 25 shots, including a bad high-arcing jumper that went in and decided the game with about 4 seconds to go. The Clippers won 97-95, and they’ll take it, but the performance was poor again. On offense, they used pull up jumpers to bail out Kings poor defense, ignoring the inside. Their guards are very unreliable handling the ball and they are only about 2.5-deep when it comes to scoring. On defense, key guys are resting, and the backcourt can’t stay connected to the shooters behind screen due to an obvious lack of body strength.
Patrick Beverley had a knee surgery and is expected to miss the remainder of the season, and the Clippers won’t get Teodosic back before Christmas (and he’s injury prone, so he may not last long). Gallinari is expected back sooner, but Rivers told the press that he won’t rush the forward back, and it seems that Italian is a slow healer. The Clippers stay home until the end of the month and will play Utah next.
Los Angeles Lakers at Los Angeles Clippers Game Trends & Prediction
The Lakers will disappoint you more often than not, so it’s picking a game with them. They went 9-10 against the spread this season, 6-5 at home. They show exactly the same records on the over/under market, but four of the last five games have gone to the plus side.
The Clippers failed to cover in the last one, making them 2-8 against the spread in the last 10 games, and 7-11 for the season. At home, they are 3-5. Points have been difficult to come by, and it resulted in five unders in the last LA Clippers games, making them 7-11 against the total points lines this season.
Admi-Rank: Barely winning over the worst teams in the league is only enough for slowing down the slide, not completely stopping it. The Clippers would need to perform better to be considered as average again. The Lakers, on the other hand, can’t even beat the worst, so they are further down.
The Clippers are tired, coming back from traveling across America in the last two weeks, and they still will be playing with short numbers. Twelve of their eighteen games were played against teams who currently have records below .500. The Lakers have a full roster at their disposal and are well rested. Ball will also be free of the Beverley shackles, and has been shooting better lately, too.
There’s a difference between this game and the previous meeting between two sides. The last time they’ve met, the Clippers were a 6.5-point jolly and were underrated, playing with the full roster. The total points line was 218.5. This time, the tables have turned. The Clippers are a 4.5-point favorite, but are overrated as such. Two lucky wins can’t change the fact that they are playing like some of the worst teams in the league, and the Lakers are much closer to their level than the bookmakers’ offer suggests. Take the points. The total points line of 215 holds value not large enough to be seriously considered (my fair is 216), so there’s no good bet here.
My Pick: L.A. Lakers +4.5 (-110)
Total: (no wager on the total points)
