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The Los Angeles Clippers certainly are a different team than what we became accustomed to seeing over the previous five seasons when they were winning 50 games and always a threat in the Western Conference. They never matched their star power with playoff success, several big names departed and the organization is back to the dark days when wins were few and far between. Minnesota is threatening to end its long playoff drought and knocked off the Clips when the teams met just a few days ago.
Don’t miss the hardwood action from Staples Center at 10:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, December 6, 2017. Catch every moment of the game live on ESPN. We’ll have NBA opening odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Wednesday schedule.
Odds Analysis
The good news for the Clips is that outside of Golden State the Pacific Division is a mess and at 8-14 they are the second-best club in it. The bad news is that they aren’t likely to nab a postseason berth they way things are going. And worse they’ve won just four of 18 games since a 4-0 start with those wins coming against the Lakers, Sacramento, Atlanta and Dallas, teams that have combined for only 26 wins at the start of the week. The Clips are 5-13 ATS in those 18 games, but they covered the 12-point line in Minnesota on Sunday,
Injury Report
The Clippers are playing without four of their season-opening starting five due to injuries and the team has suffered because of it. They were going to have a much different look when Chris Paul left during the offseason, but Doc Rivers couldn’t foresee the loss of his starting backcourt and two forwards. Things started to fall apart early when point guard Milos Teodosic went down with a foot injury in the first week of the season. Danilo Gallinari was the next domino to fall after he played into the ninth game of the season and Patrick Beverley was done for the year shortly after that.
But the Clips still had the face of the franchise in Blake Griffin, until they didn’t. Griffin was the last of the four standing until a knee injury put him on the shelf last week. The group helped the Clippers get off to a good start with four straight victories, but they’ve won just four of 18 games since then and by the time the walking wounded are ready to return, they could be buried too deep in the conference standings to make a difference.
Last Meeting
Times they are a changing. When the Clippers were winning 50-plus games a season, one team they feasted on was the Wolves, who were on the opposite end of the spectrum at the time. The Clips won 14 straight games in the series and 16 of 17 before the Wolves finally bit back by winning the last two hookups last season. Minnesota continued its recent dominance with a 112-106 win on Sunday in the first meeting this season between the clubs.
The Wolves acquired Jimmy Butler to be a stabilizing force on a youthful roster. He did what he’s done his entire career on Sunday, scoring a game-high 33 points with 20 of them coming in the fourth quarter when the Wolves had to fight back from a deficit to claim the victory. Minnesota hit 28 of 31 free throws in the game and had an 11-point edge at the charity stripe for their third straight win over the Clips.
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Butler was Tom Thibodeau’s prized-pupil in Chicago and a reason for them being reunited was to try and get the Wolves to play some defense. Butler was the quintessential two-way player for the Bulls and he can score the basketball too. But the young Wolves aren’t going anywhere until they can stop teams in crunch time. It nearly cost them when the clubs met on Sunday. Austin Rivers went off for 30 points and hit seven three-pointers, nearly getting the Clips a road win.
But it was Butler’s offense that pulled that one out for Minnesota. The Wolves have gotten better, if just slightly, at defending. But for them it’s baby steps. Besides, they have Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns to supply additional offense. Playing solid defense is more important on the road and the Wolves should take advantage of the Clippers’ B team for another victory.
NBA Odds: Timberwolves 110, Clippers 102
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