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The Los Angeles Clippers ended the Big Four era when Chris Paul and J.J. Redick left for other clubs during the offseason. The new-look Clips didn’t get much pub after the departures and many felt the window closed on the team after so many postseason failures. They still have Blake Griffin and it’s his team now to try and lead to some postseason glory. The Clips were the last team in the Association to lose a game and if they are going to be as good as the start they’ve enjoyed, beating the Dallas Mavericks at home is imperative.
Don’t miss the hardwood action from Staples Center at 10:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, November 1, 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 Mavs enter the week tied for the worst record in the NBA. There were some excruciating losses to Atlanta, Sacramento and Philadelphia, teams at the same level as Dallas and games that they had a good chance of winning. Instead, the Mavs dropped all of them SU and ATS. They’ve been dogs in six straight leading up to this one and will get points again.
It was a perfect start for the Clips, who won and covered their first three games. The streaks hit a wall on Saturday with a 95-87 loss to Detroit as an 8.5-point favorite. LA needs to take advantage of an early stretch where eight of their first nine games are played at Staples Center.
Player to Watch
With Paul off to Houston, the Clippers are Griffin’s team now and he’s taken over as the leader at the start of the season. He’s averaging nearly 25 points per game while shooting better than 51 percent from the floor, and he’s picked up his game on the defensive end as well. Griffin was the go-to guy when the Clips won in Portland, draining a game-winning three at the buzzer as part of his 25-point night.
Griffin played over 40 minutes against the Blazers and is getting over 35 minutes of run time per night at the outset. He leads the team in scoring, assists and field goal percentage while becoming a threat from distance. His shot against the Blazers wasn’t a gift, rather the product of improved accuracy. He’s taking nearly six threes a game and has made over 41 percent of those shots so far.
Key Stat
The Clippers had to change things around after the departure of Paul, Redick, Jamal Crawford, Luc Mbah a Moute and others. They went from being a run and gun team to a more deliberate offensive club that can actually play some defense. The addition of Patrick Beverley has helped in that department and the Clippers have the league’s best scoring defense after two weeks of the season.
Of course it’s a small sample size and the Clips have yet to play some of the more explosive offensive teams, but it gives us a good idea of how Doc Rivers is coaching this team. DeAndre Jordan still fills up the middle and is hauling down over 17 rebounds per outing while blocking nearly two shots per game. The Clips are allowing just 92.4 points entering the week with the league’s second-best field goal defense and fifth-best defending the three-pointer.
Free NBA ATS Picks
It’s been a rough start for the Mavs as they continue their rebuild. One bright spot has been the play of rookie Dennis Smith Jr., who’s done a nice job at the point, but the Mavs have struggled shooting the basketball. They’re shooting just 42 percent from the floor and average fewer than 100 points per game. And it’s been the vets who have let the team down. Dirk Nowitzki is showing his age and Wesley Matthews has done little on the offensive end.
Going up against one of the better defensive clubs, it could be a struggle for the Mavs to find points. Beverley will hound Smith in the backcourt while Jordan will continue to torment on the boards. Nerlens Noel and Harrison Barnes are no match down low for the Clips imposing front line. Four of the past six games played below the closing total, and that’s when the teams had more offensive firepower. Expect a close, low-scoring affair with the under a good pick.
NBA Odds: Clippers 96, Mavericks 90
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