The Portland Trail Blazers hit the road again as the take on the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
After suffering back to back road losses to the Memphis Grizzlies and the Houston Rockets, the Portland Trail Blazers went home and knocked off the best team in the Eastern Conference last Friday night. The Blazers were underdogs against the Toronto Raptors but managed to beat the best of the East 128-122 to improve to 16-13 on the season and get a much needed confidence booster.
Damian Lillard leads Portland in scoring and passing. Dame is scoring 26.9 points and dishing off 6.0 assists per game this season. His backcourt mate C.J. McCollum is putting up 21.7 points per game while big man Jusuf Nurkic is averaging a double double with 14.4 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Nurkic also leads the Blazers with 1.0 steals and 1.3 blocks per game.
Portland ranks 11th in team scoring at 111.6 points per game. The Blazers are second in the league in rebounding at 48.8 boards per contest. They are however just 28th in passing with only 21.0 assists per game. The Blazers are allowing 110.2 points per game, putting them at #12 overall in scoring defense.
The Los Angeles Clippers are playing what is arguably the toughest six games stretch of their season. They are halfway done but after three games, the Clippers are 0-3 with losses to the Toronto Raptors, San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder. On Monday night, they take on the Blazers and then close out the stretch with the with the Dallas Mavericks and Golden State Warriors next.
Tobias Harris is having a breakout season for the Clippers, averaging 20.9 point and 8.9 rebounds per game to lead the Clippers in both statistical departments. Danilo Gallinari is contributing 19.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell have starred off the bench with 17.2 and 15.1 points per game respectively.
The Clippers rank 6th in the league in scoring at 113.9 points per game. Los Angeles is 24th in passing at 22.2 assists per game and are 11th in the NBA off the glass at 46.0 rebounds per game. Defensively, the L.A. Clippers are 25th in scoring defense, allowing 113.5 points per game.
The Blazers and Clippers have met a total of 223 times during the regular season. Portland leads the all-time head to head series 145-78 and the Blazers have won four out of the last five meetings. These teams have already played each other twice this season, both in Portland, and they have split those meetings. The Blazers won 116-105 last November 8th while the Clippers were victorious, 104-100, last November 25th.
The Blazers are 4-6 SU in their last 10 games played and Portland is 5-9 SU in 14 road games played this season. The Clippers are 6-4 SU in their last 10 games played and Los Angeles is 9-3 SU in a dozen games played at the Staples Center this season. Head to head, the Blazers are 4-1 SU in their last five meetings.
Both these teams were off to a fast start but have slowly began to fade. The Blazers had lost six out of nine games before coming up with a big win over the Raptors last Friday. On the other hand, the Clippers have lost three in a row and six of their last 10 overall. Between the two teams, the Blazers carry momentum by virtue of their win over the Raptors. However, the Clippers hope to offset that by playing at home, where they are 9-3 SU on the season.
But the key to this game should be the absence of the reigning Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams who has sat out the Clippers’ last three games with a hamstring injury. Williams is expected to miss another week of action and he is badly missed not just because of his production but also because his output comes off the bench. Coincidentally or not, the Clippers have lost their last three games by an average margin of 19.33 points. Unless someone from the bench explodes on Monday night, the Clippers are in trouble here. We’re picking the Portland Trail Blazers to beat the Los Angeles Clippers on 12/17/18.
Portland is 14-15 ATS this season and the Blazers are 4-10 ATS in 14 road games played so far. The Clippers are 16-13 ATS in 29 games played this season. Los Angeles is 8-4 ATS at home in a dozen home games at the Staples Center. Head to head, the Blazers are 4-1 ATS in their last five games versus the Clippers.
The Clippers have struggled in their last six games, going just 1-5 SU and ATS during that period. Interestingly, the road team is 8-3 in the last 11 games between these teams and the Blazers are 4-1 ATS in their last five meetings in Los Angeles. Portland has struggled as of late but their win over the Raptors should give them confidence over the Clippers. Los Angeles meanwhile has lost three in a row but are 9-3 at home. I think of this as an even matchup between two good playoff caliber teams. But with the Clippers playing without Lou Williams’ 17 points per game, l’m going to take the plus points on the road team here. Prediction: Blazers +2.5
The over is 15-14 in the Blazers’ 29 games played this season. The total has gone over in 8 out of the 14 road games played by Portland so far. The over is 16-13 in the Clippers’ games played this season. The total has gone over in 7 out of the last 12 home games played by the Clippers. Head to head, the under is 6-4 in the last 10 meetings between Portland and the L.A. Clippers.
The under is 2-1 in the Clippers’ last three games which Lou Williams has missed with a hamstring injury. The Clippers missed their last two totals by 9.5 and 8.5 points which just shows how much Sweet Lou’s scoring means to the team. The under is also 5-1 in the Blazers’ last six games overall. Prediction: Under 219
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