The Los Angeles Clippers return home from an extended six-game Eastern Conference road swing looking to get back in the good graces of NBA bettors after losing to the trio of Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving last time out. It won’t be easy though with Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics looking to take down another Western Conference foe after going into Golden State and ousting the Warriors to kick off a five-game road trip of their own. These teams played to a pair of epic skirmishes a season ago. The Clippers logged the 107-104 win and non-cover as 7.5-point home favorites, while the Celtics earned the series split taking LA down 141-133 in overtime back in Beantown. LA has come out on top seven of the last eight times it hosted Boston, but only managed a split against the spread at online sportsbooks. Total bettors saw the under cash in at a 4-3-1 clip in those matchups.
Take this heated non-conference showdown in live on Friday, February 5, 2021. Tip-off is set for 10 p.m. ET from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN. We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game of Friday night’s NBA slate.
NBA Opening Lines at BookMaker.eu
Odds Analysis
With Tatum back in the Celtics starting lineup, Boston stands just a single basket away from being 4-0 both SU and ATS. The team just went into the Chase Center and handed the Warriors their fifth home loss of the season. In doing so, Brad Stevens’ troops clawed over the breakeven point on the road at 6-5 SU and 5-6 ATS with a stop in Sacramento scheduled before hitting the Staples Center hardwood on Friday night. Los Angeles will attempt to bounce back from that loss to Brooklyn on Wednesday night in Cleveland before returning home for the first time since January 24. Since taking losses in two of its first four home games, the Clippers have rattled off six straight wins in front of their home based cardboard cutouts splitting the six games against the closing NBA odds. In all, LA checks in 8-3 SU and 5-5 ATS as a host with the over coming in six times and an average of 222.8 points scored.
Boston Celtics
After allowing Steph Curry to go HAM in the first quarter which led to Golden State getting out to a commanding 35-24 lead to put under bettors on notice, the Celtics defense settled down the remainder of the game to help reel in a much-needed win to kick start the road trip. Jayson Tatum continued his scorching hot ways leading the Celtics with 27 points on 9 of 19 shooting and came a rebound short of logging a double-double. Four others chipped in with double-digits, but it was a rough shooting night for Jaylen Brown who failed to surpass his 24.5 point player prop by way of connecting on just one of six 3-point attempts. Boston took advantage of James Wiseman’s absence to dominate the battle of the boards (51-36), yet still needed to seal the deal at the charity stripe late for those that laid the 2.5-points. The combined 218 points failed to surpass the 228 closing total.
Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers opened up as 1-point underdogs to the Nets for Tuesday night’s showdown. The betting public flocked to Kawhi Leonard and company ultimately turning LA into 1.5-point road chalk at the close. Even after putting forth a solid first quarter in which the team led 32-24, it never truly felt like Los Angeles was ultimately going to come through for its wagering supporters. In the end, they didn’t as Brooklyn’s trio went on to combine for 73 percent of the Nets’ points. The Clippers entered the match owning by far the better of the two defenses on paper, but allowed the Nets to tickle the twine at a flaming 57 percent clip which included an absurd 13 of 31 showing from beyond the arc. Even after winning the rebounding battle and forcing a whopping 16 Nets turnovers, it still wasn’t enough as the team fell 124-120 and allowed Brooklyn to register 30+ points in all but the first quarter.
Boston vs. Los Angeles Prediction
There’s something up with the Clippers right now. Whether it was being on the road for an extended period or something else, your guess is as good as mine. Regardless, they didn’t look like a potential title winner to me taking them in live on Tuesday night. While I get the task of defending Brooklyn’s big three is daunting, LA simply didn’t have a clue on how to stop them. Kawhi is still a man amongst boys, but I also had an issue with the offense’s inability to run a fluid attack. That ultimately stems from the team’s lack of a dominant point guard. While I’d be more confident with Boston in this matchup had Marcus Smart been able to suit up for it, I still think they’re in better form with one of the league’s risers really starting to come into his own in Tatum. With its best win of the season coming all the way back on opening night when it beat Giannis and the Bucks by a single point, I expect the Celtics to go all-out to snag the dub in this potential NBA Finals showdown.
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