Lakers vs Clippers Preview: The Tides are Turning
Clippers Favored at “Home” But Lakers Have the Momentum
NBA Odds Peg Clippers at -6 Despite Recent Results
The Clippers are favored by six points as the “home team”. But they have also lost the last two games against the Lakers. Still, the Clippers have been on a roll having won seven straight home games and being 9-3 against the spread (ATS) in its last 12 conference games. But can they be bankable in this matchup? Our Lakers vs Clippers preview may be bearish on this.
Los Angeles Lakers (23-22), L.A. Clippers (27-14) 
Date, time:
Location: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA
Streaming: Live Sports Stream
Can the Lakers Neutralize the Clippers Again?
The Lakers have won both meetings against the Clippers this season. But even with this, the record between these franchises is 13-4 in favor of the latter since the 2019-20 season. This is when superstar forwards Kawhi Leonard and Paul George joined the Clippers. Yet their last meeting was telling.
These rivals were far apart in the NBA standings and the Clippers were favored by 4.5 points. But the Lakers held the Clippers to 103 points on 39.6% shooting as their superstars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, combined to score 47 points on 21-of-36 shooting.
The Lakers have won both meetings against the Clippers this season. But even with this, the record between these franchises is 13-4 in favor of the latter since the 2019-20 season. This is when superstar forwards Kawhi Leonard and Paul George joined the Clippers. Yet their last meeting was telling.
These rivals were far apart in the NBA standings and the Clippers were favored by 4.5 points. But the Lakers held the Clippers to 103 points on 39.6% shooting as their superstars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, combined to score 47 points on 21-of-36 shooting.
“We played like we needed to win, like it was a must-win,” Davis said. “We competed on both sides of the basketball. We’ve just got to build off of it.”
The 103 points are the fewest the Clippers have scored since trading for star guard James Harden. And the team is just 3-9 this season when scoring below the 110-point mark. If the Lakers play with this sense of urgency again, it can neutralize the Clippers a third time. But that’s questionable.
Since that victory, the Lakers have given up 120+ points in four of their next seven games. They went 1-3 and 0-4 against the spread (ATS). As for the Clippers, they have gone 5-1 and have scored 125+ points in all but the one loss, which came in a road game against the conference-leading Timberwolves.
Indeed, these L.A. teams are contenders per the NBA odds to win the championship. The Clippers have the momentum but the Lakers have their number. Given the lines, taking the Lakers’ points has been the sharp thing to do.
A Tale of Two Games: Totals Reflect the First
In the Lakers and Clippers’ two NBA fixtures this season, the scores couldn’t have been more different. The last game was a defensive grind as the Lakers won 106-103. The total fell well under 232 points. But the first meeting, which did not feature Harden for the Clippers, went way past 228 points with a 130-125 Lakers win.
So which type of game are we getting in this Lakers vs Clippers preview?
Judging by the 231.5 total, we should expect more of the latter. The Clippers have been on a roll, offensively. Since acquiring Harden, the team has the fourth-best offensive rating in the NBA at 119.9. And since this trade, the Lakers and Clippers are just 13th and 15th in defensive rating.
The Clippers have been scoring over 125 points easily. That’s why five of its last six games have gone over the total. However, 231.5 points is quite a lot. Both sides will have to score over 115 points or one side will need to hit the 120s. And neither can afford to score below 110 points, which the Lakers have done 19 times.
Totals also tend to be jacked when the Clippers play at home, hence why they have gone under 60% of the time when L.A. is favored (8-12-1). On the flip side, the totals have gone over on 75% of the Lakers’ road games as a visitor (9-3-0).
Clippers home games tend to be Lakers home games. So our Lakers vs Clippers preview may just tout the ‘under’ on this one.
Lakers vs Clippers Preview
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