The Los Angeles Clippers (41-19) visit the Sooner State Tuesday to play the Oklahoma City Thunder (37-23) at 8 p.m. ET at Chesapeake Energy Arena. We analyze the Clippers-Thunder odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.
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Clippers at Thunder: Key injuries
Thunder
- SF Darius Bazley (knee) out
- SG Andre Roberson (knee) out
Clippers at Thunder: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips
NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 2:45 p.m. ET.
Prediction
Clippers 119, Thunder 110
Moneyline (ML)
If you haven’t noticed, the Thunder (+155) have been a little off their game lately and the Clippers (-189) have been balling now that everyone is healthy. Oklahoma City has won two of its last three games but played unnecessarily tight games with the Chicago Bulls and Sacramento Kings, losing both against the spread. Their most recent game was a 47-point stomping at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks Friday.
The season series is split 1-1 but Clippers SF Kawhi Leonard didn’t play in either of the two meetings. The Thunder picked up a 118-112 W in the last meeting, keyed by a revenge performance from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who scored 32 points in the victory. Call me crazy, but I think Leonard’s presence in this game will end up having an influence on the outcome. The Clippers’ moneyline is on the fringe of a price I’d play but my official recommendation is to PASS in favor of a bet on the spread.
Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
Spoiler alert: I don’t really have any ATS trends to sell my bet. The Thunder have the second-best ATS record in the NBA and trend better in most situations than the Clippers. I am mostly going off the eye test and how impressive the Clippers have looked recently. Both teams have a 4-1 record since returning from the All-Star break, except the Clippers have a plus-12.6 average margin of victory and the Thunder have a minus-0.4 margin of victory.
Granted the Thunder numbers are skewed because of the whooping they took from the Bucks. Los Angeles is the more balanced team—ranked higher in offensive and defensive rating than Oklahoma City—and with the season winding down, the Clippers will begin to round into playoff form.
I LOVE CLIPPERS -4.5 (-110).
Over/Under (O/U)
Three of the past four Clippers-Thunder meetings have gone Under the projected total but their last game went Over. The 226.5 projected total feels like a good line that I don’t see much edge betting either side.
Both teams have the same Over/Under record of 28-31-1 and both are above-average defensively. I slightly lean OVER 226.5 (-121) because the Clippers have scored 124 or more points in three of their last four games and the added vig to the Over is BetMGM pricing against incoming Over wagers.
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