It’s time once again to put the L.A. Clippers in your NBA picks. They’re a live dog for Tuesday’s tilt with the Golden State Warriors.
Los Angeles Clippers vs. Golden State Warriors
Tuesday, March 8, 2022- 10:00 PM EST at Chase Center
Don’t plan the funeral route for the Los Angeles Clippers just yet. They don’t have Kawhi Leonard (knee), Paul George (elbow), or even Norman Powell (foot), but the Clippers are still eighth in the Western Conference at 34-32 SU and 33-33 ATS. Even better, they’re 7-2 SU and ATS since Powell went on the injured list, shortly after he was acquired ahead of the February 10 trade deadline.
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It’s going to take a lot for us not to recommend Los Angeles for your NBA picks. Are the Golden State Warriors (43-22 SU, 31-30-4 ATS) going to stop us? Heck, no. The Warriors have gone completely off the rails at 2-9 SU and ATS in their last 11 games, and they’re way too overvalued after opening overseas as 7-point home faves for Tuesday’s matchup with the Clippers.
I’m Totally Tired
If those recent records aren’t enough to sway you, consider the computer projections at FiveThirtyEight. Nate Silver’s crew has Golden State winning this contest by five points, which gives us the two points we want between the projections and the actual NBA odds to throw down a reasonably chunky bet.
But wait, there’s more. The Warriors are playing on zero days of rest after losing 131-124 to the Denver Nuggets on Monday as 8-point road dogs. Well, some of the Warriors are on zero days of rest; Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Andrew Wiggins were all given a breather, as was Otto Porter Jr., who’s considered day-to-day with a non-COVID illness.
Also day-to-day with injuries is Gary Payton II (knee) and Nemanja Bjelica (quad). The rest of the team still has to make the trip from Denver after playing in that infamous Mile High air. And they’ll be without Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala, both out with back injuries. The Dubs haven’t been the same without Green as their de facto point forward, and they sure could use Iguodala’s defense right about now.
Nine Man Morris
Let’s get back to L.A. for a moment. The focus in the betting market may be on who’s not playing for the Clippers, but look at what they do have: a competent 1-2 punch at center with Ivica Zubac and Isaiah Hartenstein, another pair of quality two-way forwards in Nicolas Batum and Robert Covington, and two promising young shooting guards in Terance Mann and Luke Kennard.
That’s a strong backbone for both the starting lineup and the bench mob. Life would obviously be better in Los Angeles if they could flesh out that skeleton crew with some All-Stars, but for now, veterans like point guard Reggie Jackson and swingman Marcus Morris Sr. will have to do. Kudos as well to Amir Coffey for carving a backcourt role for himself off the bench; that’s nine useful players the rested Clippers can turn to for Tuesday’s game. We’ll buy that for a dollar.
NBA Pick: Clippers +7 (-110) with Bovada (visit our Bovada 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.
