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The Los Angeles Clippers will travel to take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in a Tuesday night NBA matchup at the Paycom Center. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our NBA odds series, which includes a Clippers-Thunder prediction and pick, laid out below.
Los Angeles has opened their season 2-1, winning the first two games before losing in the third contest. Los Angeles finished eighth in the Western Conference last season with a 42-40 record but were eliminated from the play-in round in just two games.
Oklahoma City has lost their first three games of the season, being outscored by an average of about seven points per game. Oklahoma City was awful last season, finishing fourteenth in the Western Conference with a 24-58 record. The Thunder are likely a couple of years away from contention.
Here are the Clippers-Thunder NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel
NBA Odds: Clippers-Thunder Odds
Los Angeles Clippers: -9.5 (-110)
Oklahoma City Thunder: +9.5 (-110)
Over: 214.5 (-110)
Under: 214.5 (-110)
Why The Clippers Could Cover The Spread
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Paul George leads the team with 23.7 points, 4.7 assists, and two steals per game. George also leads the team with a 94.1 percent free throw percentage. John Wall is no longer a starter but has enjoyed a strong start to the season with Los Angeles. Wall has averaged sixteen points, 3.5 assists, and a steal per game. In his new role, Wall is playing an average of 23 minutes per game. Ivica Zubac leads the team with an impressive average of eleven rebounds, 3.3 of which come on the offensive boards.
Kawhi Leonard is on a minutes restriction as he returns from his ACL injury in the 2021 postseason. For at least the beginning of the year, Leonard will not play back-to-back nights and has played 21 minutes in each game he has appeared in this season. Leonard is averaging 12.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Marcus Morris is averaging fifteen points per game on 63.3 percent shooting.
Los Angeles is last in the league in scoring, averaging 103 points per game. Los Angeles is eleventh in the league with 47 rebounds per game. To make up for the lackluster offense, Los Angeles ranks sixth in opponent scoring, allowing 106 points per game.
Why The Thunder Could Cover The Spread
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leads the team with 30 points, six assists, and two steals per game. Gilgeous-Alexander has not missed a free throw this season. Josh Giddey is pacing the team with 8.3 rebounds per game, ranking second in scoring with 14.3 points per game. Luguentz Dort is also tied for second with 14.3 points per game.
Mike Muscala ranks second on the team with six rebounds per game, playing in about thirteen minutes per game. Muscala is also averaging 10.3 points per game in his limited minutes. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl is shooting 63.6 percent from the free throw line, scoring 10.3 points per game. As a team, Oklahoma City has shot 42.2 percent from the field, including 30.6 percent from behind the three-point line.
Oklahoma City is averaging 110.3 points, which ranks twentieth in the league. The team's 48.7 rebounds per game rank fourth in the league, while their 25 assists per game ranks fifteenth. Oklahoma City's defense has struggled, allowing 117.7 points per game, which ranks 21st in the league.
Final Clippers-Thunder Prediction & Pick
Los Angeles is just better, and as long as they can bottle up Gilgeous-Alexander, the victory should be pretty easy.
Final Clippers-Thunder Prediction & Pick: Los Angeles -9.5 (-110), over 214.5 (-110)
