The Clippers get a brutal test out of the gate following the All-Star break with games against the Spurs and Warriors. At least those games are on the Staples Center floor, where the Clippers are 17-8 SU. They’ll try to avenge an early-season loss to the Spurs when they had Blake Griffin in the lineup.
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LOOK AHEAD
Not only have the Clippers survived in the absence of Blake Griffin, they’ve thrived. The Clips are 18-5 since their star power forward was sidelined because of a quadriceps injury and later a broken hand. The Clippers also have won three of four since Austin Rivers suffered a broken hand, leading coach Doc Rivers to offer up a stirring assessment of where his team stands heading into the final 29 games of the season. “Love it. Couldn’t be in a better place,” he said.
The Clippers are trying to hold on to at least fourth place in the Western Conference standings, which would give them home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Their chances look fairly good. LA is 4.5 games behind third-place Oklahoma City and four games ahead of the fifth-place Memphis Grizzlies. One factor potentially working against the Clippers in the next few weeks: their schedule. The Spurs and Warriors, the teams with the top two records in the West are their opponents out of the break and six of their first 10 games are against teams with winning records.
INJURIES
The Clippers hope to welcome Griffin back into their locker room in the coming days. He isn’t expected to play in a game until sometime next month after he recovers from his hand injury and serves a four-game suspension. Rivers could return sooner. He’s about halfway through his expected month long injury absence.
Manu Ginobili is likely out until the end of March as he recovers from surgery for a groin injury. Also, Tony Parker missed the final game before the break with an ankle injury and is questionable to play against the Clippers.
KEY MATCHUP
In two weeks leading up to the All-Star break, LaMarcus Aldridge was scoring at a clip reminiscent of the way he played during his nine seasons with Portland. He bounced back from his passive, five-point effort in the humbling 30-point loss at Golden State on Jan. 25 to average 24.1 points in leading the Spurs to wins in seven of their last eight games, including the last six in a row. His strong finish to the first half helped the Spurs to a 45-8 record at the break, a franchise record through 53 games. Aldridge has finally found his footing after struggling initially to locate his comfort zone in a share-the-load system that doesn’t require him to be The Man. That was apparent during a four-game stretch earlier this month. Powered by a season-high 36 points against New Orleans on Feb. 3, Aldridge averaged 26 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. Aldridge’s ability to play away from the basket gives him an edge over DeAndre Jordan, who prefers to defend around the rim blocking shots and grabbing rebounds.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
The Clippers have largely persevered without Griffin by using smaller lineups, spreading the floor and attempting more three-point shots. One area that was already improving before Griffin got hurt was their defense. The Clips ranked 17th in the NBA in defensive efficiency and 19th in points allowed from the start of the season through the end of November. Since then, they are fourth in efficiency and eighth in points allowed. But the Clips are going against the team that set the standard for defense. San Antonio leads the league in scoring defense, is second in three-point field goal defense and third in overall field goal defense. The Spurs have a way of confounding opponents and the Clippers are next on that list.
San Antonio 112, Los Angeles 108
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