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The La Clippers and Sacramento Kings square off at the Golden 1 Center on Friday night in a crucial game between the #8 and #9 seeds in the Western Conference.
Can The Clippers Hang On?
The LA Clippers have been in the Top 8 of the Western Conference since the start of the season. But as this one has progressed, they have slowly fallen off the charts and after their top scorer Tobias Harris was moved at the trade deadline, it looks like the wheels are starting to fall off. Can the Clippers hang on though? They currently lead the Kings by two games and they can put more separation with a win here.
Lou Williams has become the new leading scorer for the Clippers. Off the bench, Sweet Lou is averaging 19.9 points per game while also dishing off 5.4 dimes per contest. Danilo Gallinari is also scoring 18.8 points while grabbing 5.8 rebounds per game for the Clippers while Montrezl Harrell has been a surprise with 16.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. Guards Landry Shamet and Shai Gilgeous Alexander are also scoring 10.1 and 9.8 points per game, respectively.
Block ➡️ Bucket pic.twitter.com/C8BzD57pmL
— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) February 28, 2019
The Clippers have the 9th best scoring average in the NBA at 113.9 points per game. They also rank 22nd in passing at 23.3 assists per game and the Clippers are 18th in rebounding at 45.0 boards hauled per contest. LA has the 7th worst scoring defense in the league at 113.7 opponent points per game allowed.
Clippers
+125
Kings
-145
Odds from betonline.ag as of 3/01/19
Can The Kings Enter Via The Backdoor?
While the question on the other side is whether LA can hang on, many are asking if the Sacramento Kings can enter the playoffs via the backdoor. Sacramento still has 21 games left to play and are just two games behind the Clippers and the 7th seeded Spurs in the team standings. Given their determination and ability to shoot the ball, no question the Kings can do it.
Buddy Hield leads Sacramento in scoring with 20.8 points per game while second year guard De’Aaron Fox is having an excellent season with 17.3 points and 7.2 assists per game. Willie Cauley-Stein leads the Kings with 8.4 rebounds while also scoring 12.4 points per game. Bogdan Bogdanovic has been a huge help with his 14.9 points and 4.1 assists per game average.
Sacramento is the #7 top-scoring team in the NBA at 114.0 points per game. The Kings rank 9th in passing with 25.6 assists per game and they are also tied for 12th with 45.4 rebounds per game. The Kings have the 4th worst scoring defense in the league at 115.2 opponent points per game allowed.
Who Wins?
The Clippers are 5-5 SU in their last 10 games played and LA is 3-5 SU in its last eight road games. The Kings are also 5-5 SU in their last 10 games played and Sacramento is 4-2 SU in its last six home games. Head to head, the Clippers are 9-1 SU in their last 10 games against the Kings.
The Clippers have managed to remain in playoff contention despite trading their top scorer at the trade deadline. But without Tobias Harris, this becomes a more fragile team because while Lou Williams is a pure scorer, he isn’t the kind of versatile one like Harris is who can take over games for his team. That said, credit the Clippers for staying afloat up to now.
The Kings meanwhile are feeling good about themselves having a chance to finally get back to the postseason. Make no mistake, the Kings aren’t in the Top 8 yet but the prospect of being in the playoff picture at this late stage of the season is enough to get this young team excited.
The Clippers are an even 17-17 SU on the road this season and the Kings are a very solid 19-12 SU at home during this campaign. Sacramento will be without Marvin Bagley III who was diagnosed with a sprain and will be out for a week. Man for man, Sacramento has more talent and I think at this stage of the season, they are hungrier.
I’m picking the Sacramento Kings to beat the Los Angeles Clippers on 3/1/19.
Other Bets To Make
LA is 6-4 ATS in its last 10 games played. The Clippers are 4-4 ATS in their last eight games played. The Kings are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games played. Sacramento is 5-1 SU in its last six home games. Head to head, the Clippers are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 games against the Kings.
Clippers
+2.5(-105)
Kings
-2.5(-115)
Odds from betonline.ag as of 3/01/19
The LA Clippers are 5-0 ATS in their last five games after a loss, 4-1 ATS in their last five games against the Western Conference and 4-1 ATS in their last five games overall. The Kings are 4-0 ATS in their last four games against teams with a winning record, 23-9 ATS in their last 32 home games played and 6-1 ATS in their last seven games overall. Interestingly, the home team is 6-2 ATS in the last eight meetings between these two teams. The Kings should bounce back from their loss to the Bucks against a good Clippers team that isn’t the same without Tobias Harris.
Prediction: Kings -2.5
The over is 6-4 in the Clippers’ last 10 games played. LA has seen the total go under in 19 out of their 34 home games played this season. The total has gone under in six out of the last 10 games played by the Kings. The under is 4-2 in the last six home games played by Sacramento. Head to head, the over is 6-3-1 in the last 10 games between these two teams.
Clippers
O 240.5 -110
Kings
U 240.5 -110
Odds from betonline.ag as of 3/01/19
These are two young squads that like to play uptempo basketball. Both have great offense and don’t play good enough defense on the other end. Remember that the Kings are coming off a game where they allowed the Bucks to shoot 48% from the floor and score 141 points on them. The Clippers meanwhile have a Top 10 offense and a bottom 10 defense so it won’t take rocket science to convince you that this one’s going to be track meet of scoring points.
Prediction: Over 240.5
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