Clippers vs. Suns NBA Preview and Best Bet for February 15 (Archive)
The Los Angeles Clippers – or what’s left of them – are on the wrong side of the NBA odds for Tuesday’s matchup with the Phoenix Suns.
Los Angeles Clippers vs. Phoenix Suns
Tuesday, February 15, 2022 – 10:00 PM EST at Footprint Center
There will be no tanking in Los Angeles – not on purpose, at least. There’s already too much invested in the immediate future for both the Lakers and the Clippers; both are struggling, but it’s the latter we’re dealing with for Tuesday’s NBA picks, as they prepare to visit the first-place Phoenix Suns in what looks like a blowout on paper. Phoenix opened as 12-point favorites at Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review), and they may be the right pick even at this very chalky price.
Capitalism for You, Socialism for Us
It seemed like a great idea at the time: Get Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. The NBA doesn’t have a hard salary cap – merely a punitive luxury tax – so when you’ve got the kind of money Steve Ballmer’s got, you might as well spend it on the best talent possible. Unfortunately, Leonard (knee) and George (elbow) are both out indefinitely, perhaps until 2022-23.
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With hope for either star’s return fading quickly, the Clippers (29-30 SU, 28-31 ATS) surprised everyone ahead of the trade deadline by acquiring Norman Powell and Robert Covington from the Portland Trail Blazers.
That’s not the way The Process works. But it’s actually a smart, forward-looking trade for L.A., given Powell’s previous success playing alongside Leonard with the 2018-19 World Champion Toronto Raptors.
Too bad Powell can’t help the Clippers right now. He’s out indefinitely with a broken foot, having played just three games for his new employers; now that Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow and Keon Johnson are property of the Trail Blazers, this leaves L.A. with a threadbare lineup to face the Suns.
Gimme a Break
As if that weren’t enough, the Clippers also pulled off a more traditional seller’s deal last Thursday, sending Serge Ibaka to the Milwaukee Bucks as part of a 4-team deal. Los Angeles received two low-paid scrubs in Rodney Hood and Semi Ojeleye, so at least they’ll have enough warm bodies for this matchup, but Ibaka (minus-1.0 BPM at Basketball Reference) was performing at a much higher level than Hood (minus-3.5 BPM) and Ojeleye (minus-6.6 BPM).
Add it all up – or let the hoop nerds at FiveThirtyEight do it for you – and you get the short-handed Clippers losing this game by 13.5 points. That only leaves 1.5 points between their projection and the actual betting odds, which isn’t quite the preferred old-school two points for a proper bet, but there are some old-school angles working against Los Angeles.
Chief among them: They’re playing on zero days of rest after beating the Golden State Warriors 119-104 Monday night as 6-point home dogs. Beating the Warriors sans Draymond Green is one thing. Doing it the very next day against the first-place Suns (46-10 SU, 32-24 ATS) and their nearly-complete roster is quite another. Bet accordingly.
NBA Pick: Suns –12.5 (–108) with Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.