Doc Rivers and Gregg Popovich are two of the sharpest minds in the NBA. Rivers and Pop have both been at it for a long time and both coaches are great at maximizing what they can get out of their players. They have each been fantastic at finding ways to win without superstars, and each coach has their team right in the thick of things in the loaded Western Conference. That’s about where the similarities end when the Los Angeles Clippers host the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night though.
This regular season tilt between Western Conference foes will take place on Thursday, November 15, 2018. Tip-off will take place at 10:30 p.m. ET from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The game will be broadcast on TNT.
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Odds Analysis
There has been no line released for this game as NBA betting odds generally come out the night before the game. This article will be published on Wednesday, so there are no basketball betting lines available at this time.
Key Injuries
It looks like the Clippers will be without the services of Luc Mbah a Moute ahead of this game. Mbah a Moute has only played in four games all season long, and he has been hampered by a knee injury that has taken time to recover from. He is listed as questionable, but indications are that he won’t play. The news is more positive for Avery Bradley though. Bradley hurt his ankle recently, and he is listed as questionable too but more likely to suit up than Mbah a Moute.
Pau Gasol didn’t join San Antonio on its West Coast swing, so he won’t be available for this game. Gasol has been hampered by a foot issue, and that will limit the Spurs’ depth in the frontcourt. The good news is that Jakob Poeltl and Rudy Gay are both available to play once more after being banged up.
Player to Watch
Getting DeMar DeRozan and Poeltl from Toronto after it became clear that Kawhi Leonard wasn’t going to come back was the best that San Antonio could hope for in a trade. DeRozan has taken on Kawhi’s role as the team’s leader, and he has been pretty good through his first dozen or so games with the Spurs. He leads the team in scoring, he is hitting 50 percent from the field, and he is filling up the stat sheet with 6.4 APG and 6.6 RPG.
However, he is still a woeful three-point shooter and teams are backing off of him when he is on the perimeter. That is making it hard for the Spurs to score points, and they have now tallied less than 100 points in three straight games.
Matchup to Watch
Meanwhile, the Clippers have been very underrated offensively. The resurgence of Danilo Gallinari has made this team dangerous in multiple areas, and they are one of the most efficient teams in the NBA. They can go inside-outside very well with three starters hitting greater than 41 percent of their three-pointers, and Montrezl Harrell has been fantastic in the paint.
Of course, the Spurs always have one of the best defenses in the league and they will be out to shut down this offense. That could be much tougher than it usually is given their situation though.
Live Betting Preview
San Antonio is an older, veteran team and Popovich knows he needs to save his players’ legs. That puts them in a tough spot against the Clippers since the Clip Show will have two days of rest before this game, while the Spurs will be facing Phoenix the night before. On short rest, don’t be surprised if Popovich rests one or two key players and essentially punts the game.
NBA ATS Pick: Clippers 107, Spurs 92
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