The Los Angeles Clippers may be the most pleasant surprise of the earlygoing in the NBA, and will aim to keep that story alive when they face off against the Sacramento Kings. The Clippers will be on the road, but they are playing so well that they should be favored in this matchup.
While Los Angeles entered the season as a likely shoo-in for the playoffs, they hold the best record in the league and are hoping to join the top tier of contenders which is right now limited to the Golden State Warriors, San Antonio Spurs and Cleveland Cavaliers. Those other teams figure to be very successful throughout this season so the Clippers must stay hot and win games they can like this one.
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Odds Analysis
The Clippers are 10-1 straight up and a very impressive 9-2 against the spread. They have played five games this season and have covered the spread in four of them. Los Angeles has done a solid job as the favorite, covering in eight of those 10 contests.
The Kings are 4-7 overall and 5-5-1 against the spread. They are used to being underdogs as they have been one of the poorest franchises in the NBA for some time. Sacramento is 2-1-1 covering at home this season and 3-3-1 as the underdog.
Player to Watch
DeMarcus Cousins – The Kings center is leading the team in points, rebounds and blocks this season. Cousins is averaging 26.6 points, eight rebounds and 1.1 blocks a game this year.
He had his best game of the years so far against the Spurs on October 27th, where he captured a double-double with 37 points and 16 assists. As the inferior team, another monster game by Cousins would be huge in aiding their chances of a win.
The Clippers can counter with some athletic frontcourt players to try to slow him down, but when Cousins is focused and playing well, he is a handful to stop. The Kings don’t have many matchup advantages in this game but Cousins is one.
Key Stat
92.2. That’s how many points opponents are averaging against this Clippers team so far. It’s early and the team hasn’t exactly had the most grueling schedule, but that’s still impressive and puts them atop the league for points allowed.
DeAndre Jordan is a big part of the Clippers defense. He averages 12.4 rebounds and 1.8 blocks a game, a team-high in both categories. Chris Paul is solid defensively at point guard, both bodying up opponents while also getting his fair share of steals.
The Kings average less than 100 points per game and could have trouble finding consistent scoring threats outside of Cousins in this one.
Free NBA ATS Picks
It remains to be seen if the Clippers can keep up this hot pace the entire season, but the early returns are certainly encouraging. They have a point-differential of plus-16.6 points per contest, which is far and away the best mark in the NBA.
Paul, Jordan and Blake Griffin are all playing well, and it helps that they have been together for several years. The Kings haven’t been disastrous this season but still lack the high-end talent to compete for a playoff berth.
They are 2-2 at home this season compared to just 2-5 on the road, so that should give them hope, but Los Angeles is better at nearly every facet of the game.
The Clippers may not be able to hold off the Warriors for the league’s best record the rest of the way, but expect them to keep it after this one. There’s little reason to believe Sacramento can slow down this train as Los Angeles should cruise to the win.
NBA Odds: Clippers 111, Kings 97
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