The Los Angeles Clippers have recently been traveling through a meat grinder of a schedule, so a return home to battle the Western Conference worst Lakers should be a nice reprieve from the top end talent Doc Rivers’ squad has recently run up against.
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TRAVEL
While the matchup looks sweet on paper, it’s highly possible the Clippers enter this one a bit fatigued. Chris Paul and his mates will have just wrapped up a five-game Eastern Conference jaunt that began in Cleveland on the 21st and ended in Atlanta on the 27th. That five-game in seven-day trek saw them drop two of three before opposing the Pacers and Hawks on back-to-back nights.
Though the team has done a bang-up job in performing on the hardwood without Blake Griffin in the lineup going 10-3 SU and 9-4 ATS, the team is just 11-10-2 ATS when on 24 hours rest even though its won 16 of those 23 overall games.
KEY MATCHUP
The Lakers have been a horrendous rebounding team all season long. In the lone meeting of the year between these rivals, the Clippers outboarded the Lakers by only five, 45-40. Because of it, and the Clippers taking their foot off the gas pedal in the 4th quarter, the Lakers were able to squeeze out the pointspread cover in the 10-point defeat as 12.5-point underdogs.
Blake Griffin was on the court in that game. He won’t be in this one which means his 13 points and 12 rebounds will be taken out of the equation.
With that the case, it puts the onus once again on DeAndre Jordan to be the team’s premiere glass cleaner. He entered the tail end of the road trip averaging 13.3 rebounds per game – an average only behind Detroit’s Andre Drummond.
Should Julius Randle and the rest of the Lakers find a way to once again compete on the glass, it would go a long way towards allowing them to cover their third straight in the recent rivalry.
LIVE BETTING SCENARIO
Make it a point to see just how fluid the Clippers look at the outset of this game. Remember, the team just wrapped a grueling five-game road trip and might not be the least bit interested in going all out in this one against such a mediocre opponent.
Add to that a home bout with the Chicago Bulls set to go on Sunday under the national spotlight, and it’s definitely within the realm of possibility they overlook the Lakers and sleepwalk through this one.
If that turns out to be the case and the purple and gold actually get out to a substantial lead in the first half, I’d look to live bet the Clippers on the readjusted pointspread and make it a point to hammer them on the readjusted moneyline at a ridiculous return if the Lakers at one point are able to snag a double-digit lead.
The Clippers haven’t been the most dominant of teams when at home evidenced by their 15-7 SU and 20-21-3 records, but before going on their road trip, they had rattled off wins in five of their last six and did all of that damage without the services of Griffin.
Though this isn’t a true road game, the crowd will no doubt be pro-Clippers. LA has come out on top in just four of its 26 played road tilts, so it’s definitely plausible the Clippers battle back from a huge deficit should the Lakers get out to a substantial early lead making it all the more fun to live bet the home team on the moneyline should they actually get into a scenario where they offer up a plus-money return.
Load your betting bankroll from your smartphone with BookMaker’s new cashier feature! Depositing and withdrawing funds from your account has never been easier. BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here and start wagering today! The contest pitting the Los Angeles Lakers versus the Los Angeles Clippers will commence Friday, January 29, 2015, at 10:30 p.m. ET at Staples Center. You can watch the game live on NBA TV.
