Los Angeles Clippers vs San Antonio Spurs: The Clippers will put on a scoring clinic

More contrasting teams could have not faced each other as Los Angeles Clippers square off against San Antonio Spurs. The Clippers are full of veterans and are in “win-now” mode while the Spurs is a rebuilding team with a ton of youth injected into the line-up. It is clear both record-wise and experience-wise, the Clippers hold the cards in this match-up. For quick notes, head over to the “Expert Betting Tips” section.

George: Carrying the load, but not alone

Since the last postseason, Paul George has been bearing the major burden for the team that is missing its ace Kawhi Leonard. George leads the team in points, rebounds, assists, and steals, making him the carrier of the majority of hopes for the Clippers fans. But Reggie Jackson has come alive in the backcourt and Eric Bledsoe is playing some of his basketball in three seasons. Batum has turned back the clock recently while Ivica Zubac has played some of his most reliable basketball this season. Terance Mann and Luke Kennard have also been huge help off the bench.

Had a major win streak recently

Chicago Bulls broke a seven-game win streak for the Clippers in the last game. Before that, the team had scored 120+ points thrice and figured in 110s twice, indicating how well the offense has been playing. During those wins, the Clippers won four games with a margin of 10+ points including two 20+ points blowouts. In those games, players apart from George also scored 15 or more points consistently and the team has played some inspiring basketball lately.

Substantial offensive depth

The Spurs have a bunch of young players and are actually top ten in terms of scoring, averaging around 109-110 Points per game. DeJounte Murray and Keldon Johnson have combined for around 34 PPG while Jakob Poeltl, Devin Vassell, Lonnie Walker, Derrick White, and Doug McDermott all average 10-14 PPG. It is no surprise that the team puts up a decent amount of points considering there are so many shooters and scorers.

Rebounding and defense hold them back

The rebounding has been sub-par for the Spurs and they are the third-worst team in rebounds per game with 44.1 while opponents clinch 47.3 per game against them, thus the team usually gets outrebounded. Spurs is among the bottom ten in points allowed per game, giving away 109.5 Points per game, which is not far from how much they score. The team usually loses close games and sometimes the lack of defense hurt them big-time as indicated by their 4-9 record.

• Points Leaders: Paul George: 26.5, Reggie Jackson: 17.8, Eric Bledsoe: 5.1
• Rebounds Leaders: Paul George: 8.2, Ivica Zubac: 7.8, Nicolas Batum: 6.1
• Assists Leaders: Paul George: 5.2, Eric Bledsoe: 4.4, Reggie Jackson: 4.1

• Points Leaders: Dejounte Murray: 18.4, Keldon Johnson: 16.1, Devin Vassell: 12.8
• Rebounds Leaders: Dejounte Murray: 7.8, Keldon Johnson: 6.5, Drew Eubanks: 5.0
• Assists Leaders: Dejounte Murray: 8.0, Derrick White: 3.5, Thaddeus Young: 3.5

Although NBA can be topsy-turvy and unpredictable, it is clear that the Clippers are the favorites. They have an edge in terms of experience and possess a two-way stalwart like Paul George. The focus for Clippers is winning a title while for the Spurs it is the development of the young. We predict that the Clippers will put on a scoring show despite a low-scoring loss against the Bulls.

Here are some quick notes:

• DeJounte Murray leads the Spurs in total points, rebounds, assists, and steals.
• Eric Bledsoe has scored 21 points in two of the last four games.
• Derrick White has dished 5 assists or more in the last four games.
• Luke Kennard has averaged around 10 PPG in the last five games.
• Devin Vassell has scored 15 points or more in the last three games.
• The Spurs have lost nine of their total 13 games.
• Jakob Poeltl, Jocak Landale, and Zach Collins will not play for the Spurs. Do check the injured list before each game.
• Marcus Morris, Kawhi Leonard, and Jason Preston are all on the injured list.

• Total 1 Over for 113.5 for 1.95;
• Alternative Game Total Over 220.5 for 2.00;
• Winning Margin: Los Angeles Clippers 10-13 for 6.60.