The Los Angeles Clippers earned back the home court advantage by picking up a Game 3 victory in Utah last time out, and now they would love to take a commanding lead over the Jazz in their first-round series.
The Western Conference foes finished with identical records in the regular season and this series has unsurprisingly been quite competitive. The Clippers were slight favorites despite playing on the road in Game 3, and the spread in Game 4 could be highly dependent on the availability of a star for each team.
Keep an ear out for news on Los Angeles power forward Blake Griffin and Jazz center Rudy Gobert, as they are both difference-makers but battling injuries.
This war on the floor will go down Sunday, April 23, 2017, at 9 p.m. ET at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. The game will be televised live on TNT.
We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Sunday schedule.
NBA Odds
The Clippers were able to cover last time out as they picked up a 111-106 victory. The “over” was the correct call as the scoring total was only placed at 197.5 points.
Los Angeles is 53-32 straight up and 41-43-1 against the spread on the season. The Clippers have played on the road 42 times on the season and have covered in 20 of them. Los Angeles is 28-32-1 against the spread as the favorite this season and has covered in 12 of 23 games as the underdog.
The Jazz are 52-33 straight up and 39-43-3 against the spread. Utah has played in 42 home games and has gone 19-20-3 against the spread in those contests. The Jazz are 28-26-3 against the spread and have covered in 11 of 27 attempts as the underdog.
Last Time Out
Chris Paul led the way for the Clippers, scoring 34 points and adding 10 assists and seven rebounds to rally his team to the win. Los Angeles trailed by 13 points after the first quarter but kept on chipping away and then took control in the final quarter.
Gordon Hayward did all he could for Utah, finishing with 40 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Hayward shot 13-of-21 from the field but it wasn’t enough. George Hill also had a nice game for Utah, scoring 26 points, but starting forwards Derrick Favors and Boris Diaw combined for only five points.
The Clippers lost the first game of this series but have done a nice job bouncing back since then.
Injury Report
Griffin left the game in the first half with a bruised toe, and it isn’t yet known the severity of the injury. He finished with 11 points and six rebounds in limited action and is an integral piece for the Clippers.
Griffin is a big piece if the pie on both ends of the court, and if he doesn’t play it will negatively affect the Clippers in Game 4.
The Jazz has also been dealing with an injury to a star big man. Gobert hyperextended his knee in the first minute of the opening game of this series and hasn’t played since. He averaged 14.0 points, 12.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game in the regular season.
It’s possible neither big man plays in this one, but if one or both do, it will affect the point spread.
Free NBA ATS Pick
This one is hard to peg until there is more clarity surrounding the availability of Griffin and Gobert. However, Utah and Los Angeles are pretty even teams, and the home court advantage could be the difference in this one.
Take the Jazz to take care of business at home and even the series, especially if Griffin can’t play or is limited by the toe injury. The teams likely won’t score as much as they did in Game 3, so keep an eye on the scoring total.
NBA Odds: Jazz 102, Clippers 99
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