NBA Betting: Argument Can Be Made That Clippers Are Team To Beat
by Bovada Sportsbook Staff | March 14, 2014
It’s pretty simple when it comes to winning basketball games on a consistent basis in the NBA: outscore your opponent. Sure, there are all types of deeper statistical trends and analysis out there, but why make things complicated? Just have the most points at the end of each night.
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Thus if you want to stay simple, the Los Angeles Clippers are the best team in the NBA right now because they have the league’s top overall point differential at plus-7.2, with no other team above plus-6.7. Los Angeles leads the NBA in scoring at 107.9 points per game and is No. 14 in points allowed at 100.7 but No. 4 in defensive field goal percentage. That offseason trade for Coach Doc Rivers is paying off in a big way.
The Clippers are peaking at the right time as they enter the weekend on an NBA-high nine-game winning streak (7-2 ATS) and are a solid No. 3 in the West but gaining quickly on No. 2 Oklahoma City. L.A. is going to win the Pacific Division for the second year in a row. It has jumped to 5/1 to win the Western Conference at Bovada and 10/1 to win the NBA title.
The Thunder’s Kevin Durant is likely going to win his first NBA MVP Award and Heat’s LeBron James will be the runner-up, but the Clippers’ Blake Griffin should finish third as he’s having his best season. Griffin had 30 points and 15 rebounds in Wednesday’s 111-98 win over Golden State. He has scored at least 20 points in 24 consecutive games, the longest streak in franchise history and the second-longest in the NBA this season behind Durant. Griffin is averaging 24.4 points on 53.7 percent shooting and 9.7 rebounds on the season.
Center DeAndre Jordan also is having his best year and could become just the third player (Wilt Chamberlain, Dwight Howard) to ever lead the NBA in rebounds per game and field-goal percentage. Jordan is averaging 13.9 boards (Minnesota’s Kevin Love No. 2 at 13.1) and shooting 66.3 percent (Detroit’s Andre Drummond No. 2 at 61.7 percent).
During this current streak, the Clippers have five wins against playoff teams: Oklahoma City, Houston, Golden State and Phoenix twice. The Rockets have been playing very good basketball themselves, but they are 0-3 against L.A. this year. The Thunder are 1-2. The only West contender with a winning record against the Clippers is San Antonio (2-1) and those clubs are done for the regular season.
What makes L.A.’s recent surge more impressive is that possible NBA Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford has missed five of the past six games with an injury. He’s the team’s second-leading scorer at 18.7 points per game. Starting guard J.J. Redick, the big offseason acquisition other than Rivers, hasn’t played since Feb. 3 due to back issues and might be done for the season. The Clips have gone to a small backcourt with Darren Collison starting alongside fellow point guard Chris Paul. Collison is averaging 13.8 points on 50 percent from the field since the All-Star Break.
The Clippers’ home game Sunday against Cleveland will have live betting at the Bovada. The teams met Dec. 7 in Ohio and the Cavaliers won 88-82. L.A. will be nearly a double-digit favorite this time. Cleveland still has slim hopes of getting the No. 8 seed in the East.
Also available for live betting Sunday is a potential NBA Finals preview between Miami and Houston in south Florida. That exact Finals matchup is priced at +1000. Houston beat visiting Miami 106-103 on March 4, the night after LeBron James had scored a career-high 61 points in a win over Charlotte. James looked tired against Houston 24 hours later as he was limited to 22 points and missed a potential tying 3-pointer at the buzzer. The Heat don’t like being swept by anyone so they should be plenty motivated for payback Sunday. Houston has lost four straight at Miami.
