The Clippers had lost four of five games before Wednesday, but had a perfect seed against the Trail Blazers, pulling away for a 116-103 road victory.
Los Angeles returns to the Moda Center Friday night for the second time in three days to try to sweep the season series against the lowly Blazers.
Can the Clippers establish themselves as double-digit favorites? Portland’s downward spiral has lasted all season, but has reached its peak since the All-Star Break.
The Trail Blazers went winless in February and have lost eight of their last 10 games since a two-game winning streak in early March. Here is the betting breakdown of the match with the best bet.
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Los Angeles Clippers
Daniel Théis: The 6-foot-8 center got 20 minutes of playing time in Wednesday’s win over Portland to counter the size of the Trail Blazers’ frontcourt. Theis had not scored in consecutive games, but had 10 points and 5 rebounds. We’ll see if he’ll have another extended workload Friday to pack the paint for the Clippers.
Portland Trail Blazers
Anfernée Simons: The former first-round pick is likely to dress Friday after scoring 14 points in a loss to Los Angeles on Wednesday. In the previous three games before this loss, Simons scored a total of 91 points with 14 three-pointers and 25 assists.
The Clippers have been excellent as road favorites this season, going 14-10 ATS, and also have a well-traveled defense. On Wednesday, Los Angeles managed to limit a lifeless Portland offense to 103 points by forcing 17 turnovers and allowing just eight offensive rebounds.
Los Angeles is top-10 in road defense and the Trail Blazers actually had a decent night Wednesday from beyond the arc (15 of 34). Don’t expect this to continue, as the Trail Blazers are the worst 3-point shooting team in the NBA and last in field goal percentage.
Offensively, Los Angeles struggled during its 1-4 stretch, but found remedy in Portland’s defense, which ranks 22nd in net rating. The Clipper shot 52.3 percent from the field in Wednesday’s win with their Big 3 (Paul George, Kawhi Leonard and James Harden) combining for 65 points on 26-of-45 shooting.
You can expect more of the same in Friday’s rematch for a Los Angeles team that loves to crush bad teams (23-4 in a row against teams with a losing record). Send him back with the Clippers and put up the points.
Game odds are updated periodically and are subject to change.
