The Los Angeles Clippers go on the road for the first time this season and they will travel to the Chase Center on 10/24/19 to test the Golden State Warriors who are opening their 2019-20 NBA campaign.
Beating the Lakers
The Clippers were one of the four teams that played on opening night on Tuesday and they had their cross-town rivals Lakers on their plate in a battle of early title favorites. The Clippers won round 1 by defeating the Lakers 112-102 in a game that had several momentum swings.
The Lakers started strong but Kawhi Leonard heated up in the second quarter and gave the Clippers the lead for good. The Lakers rallied at the end of the fourth quarter but Leonard and his team proved steadier down the stretch. Leonard scored 30 points in his Clippers debut while Lou Williams led the bench with 21 points. The Clippers won despite All-Star Paul George missing the game due to injury.
The Clippers shot 51.9% from the floor and made 11 out of 31 three-pointers. They grabbed 50 total rebounds against the Lakers and out-assisted their rivals 24 to 20. The Clippers also scored 25 points off turnovers and had a total of 22 fastbreak points compared to the Lakers’ 8 points.
Clippers
-115
Warriors
-110
Odds from Spinsports as of 10/23/19
Different Dubs Team
The Bay Area fans will not only have a new home court at the Chase Center, but they will also have a very different Dubs team this season. Gone is Kevin Durant who signed a free-agent deal with the Brooklyn Nets. Klay Thompson will miss the season with a knee injury. The Dubs also traded Andre Iguodala, waived Shaun Livingston and lost the likes of DeMarcus Cousins, Quinn Cook, and Jordan Bell to free agency.
The good thing for the Dubs is that Stephen Curry is healthy. The two-time MVP will have plenty on his plate though with the team losing two of their top three scorers from the previous three seasons. Draymond Green will also be back to provide the toughness while the newly acquired D’Angelo Russell is expected to help Curry with the playmaking and firepower.
Golden State ranked 2nd in scoring last season at 117.7 points per game. The Dubs were 11th in rebounding at 46.2 boards grabbed per contest. The Warriors were the top passing team in the league last season at 29.2 assists per game and they allowed opponents to score 111.5 points per outing.
Who Wins?
The Clippers are 6-4 SU in their last 10 games played and they are also 6-4 SU in their last 10 regular-season games played on the road. The Warriors are 8-4 SU in their last 12 games played and 6-0 SU in their last six games played against the Western Conference. Head to head, the Warriors are 7-3 SU in their last 10 games played against the Clippers. The Dubs are 16-4 SU in their last 20 home games against Los Angeles.
The Warriors have dominated the Clippers in their last 20 meetings at their home floor. But not only are the Dubs playing at a different venue starting this season, but these are also two entirely different teams right now. The Clippers are no longer the Lob City team of Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, and Chris Paul. Kawhi Leonard has taken over the team and based on what we saw on opening night, the Klaw means business.
The Clippers played minus Paul George against the Lakers but not even the Bron and Brow tandem could topple the Clippers. Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams led an impressive show by the bench with 21 points. Williams, Montrezl Harrell, JaMychal Green and Maurice Harkless all scored double digits off the bench and combined for 60 of Toronto’s 112 points. With that kind of depth, the Clippers are going to be tough to beat, even on the road.
This will be the first game for the new Warriors in their new home. Golden State was 2-1 at home in the preseason but this is the regular season and the stakes are different. The Dubs were 30-11 at home last season but remember that they don’t have Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson this season. The Golden State bench also lost Andre Iguodala, Quinn Cook, Jordan Bell, DeMarcus Cousins, and Shaun Livingston.
I think the Clippers are going to win two in a row. Leonard and the Clippers looked cohesive against the Lakers. They played good defense, held the Lakers to 102 points and scored 25 points off turnovers. With Steph Curry missing his KD and Klay, the Clippers defense is going to contain the Warriors. Give me the Clippers here.
Prediction: Los Angeles Clippers
Spread Odds Betting
Los Angeles is 5-4-1 ATS in their last 10 games played, 4-2 ATS in their last six games against teams from the Pacific Division and 6-3-1 ATS in their last 10 games played on the road. Golden State is 1-5 ATS in their last six games played at home. The Dubs are 2-4 ATS in their last six games overall and 4-13 ATS in their last 17 games played in October. Head to head, the Warriors are 3-1 ATS in their last four meetings.
Clippers
-1 (-106)
Warriors
+1 (-110)
Odds from Spinsports as of 10/23/19
Golden State has outscored Los Angeles by an average of 10.1 points per game in their last 10 meetings and 6.33 points per game in their last three games played. The Clippers are a bargain here at -1 as the NBA betting odds have just opened for this game. With the way they played against the Lakers, I was expecting the Clippers to be at least a +8 here. The Warriors lost too many key players during the offseason. Steph Curry and Draymond Green are still a tough duo to play against. But the Clippers’ depth was very impressive on opening night. I expect the Clippers to win by double-digits. The spread should change anytime but for as long as it’s below 10 points, I think the Clippers are a safe bet.
Prediction: Clippers -1