Los Angeles Clippers vs Los Angeles Lakers betting tips and predictions for Thursday’s NBA game on TNT. Fresh off their win against Portland at home last night, the Lakers will look to win 2 in a row as they face their cross-town rivals the Clippers. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
Los Angeles Clippers
Despite entering the game vs Indiana as 3.5 point favorites, the Clippers still fell on the road 122-116 on Monday. A total of 5 Clippers scored in double figures led by Amir Coffey who had 27, but it wasn’t enough as the defense let their opponent shoot 52% from the field and make 14 of 29 attempts from three. The Clippers have been riddled with injuries all season long, they remain without Paul George and Kawhi Leonard for the foreseeable future, one more injury worry ahead of tonight’s game is to big man Ivica Zubac who is questionable with a calf injury. Not having him vs the Pacers caused the Clippers to change up their game plan and go small, which resulted in 122 points allowed. It’ll be interesting to see how they adjust to tonight’s opponent who they’ve beaten 7 times in the last 10 meetings.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers are in a similar situation this season when it comes to injuries. Anthony Davis just got back from a long layoff, but now it appears they’ve lost LeBron James for an extended period of time as he is struggling with a knee injury. James has missed the last 4 games and the Lakers have just 1 win over that stretch, as they beat the Portland Trail Blazers 99-94 last night. AD had a superb night with 30 points and 15 rebounds, while Carmelo Anthony came in from the bench and dropped an efficient 24 points on 8-for-12 shooting. Russell Westbrook once again struggled from the field shooting just 3-for-12, but he made up for it with 10 rebounds and 13 assists. Tonight’s game will be a big test for these Lakers as they’ve won only 4 of their last 18 games vs the Clippers played on the road. Technically this is a road game for them, they are only 1-4 SU in their last 5 such games.
Even though they’ve struggled a bit without LeBron, I’m still leaning towards the Lakers here as they have the 2 best players in this game. They are only 9-15 on the road this season, but this isn’t your typical road game, so let’s go with the Lakers and the extra points.
Lakers +2.5 Point Spread is available at -110 odds on bet365
Los Angeles Clippers vs Los Angeles Lakers Predictions & Odds
Assuming Zubac doesn’t play here, the Clippers will once again play small ball just like they did against Indiana the other night. The total has gone over in 6 of their last 9 games, including 4 of their last 6 at home. Same goes for the Lakers who have gone over the total in 13 of their last 20 games and in 4 of their last 6 vs Western Conference opponents. The Lakers are the 7th worst road offense in the NBA this season allowing 112.5 points per game, while the Clippers allow more points at home than they do on the road. In their last 3 outings they’ve allowed 115 per game, while the Lakers are at 111.3 per game during the same stretch of games. Tempo wise these are the 3rd and 8th fastest teams in the league right now averaging 102.6 and 100.8 possessions per game, so there will be a ton of scoring opportunities in this one. With the previous meeting on December 3rd finishing 119-115 in favor of the Clippers, I think we are destined for another high scoring affair here, so I’d advise backing the over.
Over 217.5 Total Points is available at -110 odds on bet365
