Hawks vs. Clippers Pick
Can the banged-up Los Angeles Clippers cover at home against a struggling Atlanta Hawks teams tonight at 10:30PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Clippers are favored at home, as they are getting odds of -4.5 points against the Hawks. The over/under total for the contest is listed at 214.5 points. The Clippers have won three straight meetings with Atlanta, covering the spread in all three of those games. Tonight’s game takes place from the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California.
The Hawks are 0-3 on their current West Coast road trip, falling to the Suns, Blazers and Lakers. Atlanta is 10-29 overall, 3-18 on the road and 20-17-2 against the spread. The Hawks are putting up 103.7 points per game this season while allowing 108.5 per game. Dennis Schroder is averaging 19.8 points and 6.6 assists per game to lead this team while Taurean Prince is putting up 12.8 points and 5.7 rebounds per contest. Prince is day-to-day right now with a dislocated ring finger.
The Clippers have lost their last two games after a four-game win streak. Even worse is that Blake Griffin suffered a concussion this past weekend and is out for tonight. Los Angeles is now 17-21 overall, 10-9 at home and 20-17-1 against the spread. The Clippers are averaging 106 points per game this season while allowing 106.7 per contest. Griffin was the clear team leader with 22.8 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Lou Williams will now step up. He’s the points leader on the team with 21.9 per game while DeAndre Jordan is adding 11.6 points and 15.1 rebounds per contest.
The Clippers are banged-up, which is a concern. However, playing without Griffin is certainly nothing new for them. I don’t think the team should be too rattled by his absence. The Hawks are just a bad team and have looked unmotivated in their last two games against the Lakers and Blazers. I expect another lackluster effort tonight. The public betting is backing the Clippers as well.
NBA DAILY PREDICTION: LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS -4.5