During Thursday night’s TNT broadcast Charles Barkley argued that everyone made too big a deal about the Clippers history making game 2 comeback after being down by 30-points against the Warriors. He was right, it was an anomaly and nothing more. A blip on the radar that disappeared into nothingness. Golden State shook their finger against their round 1 opponent in game 3, winning 132-105, while remaining in Los Angeles for this Sunday’s game 4. Do the Clips dare to try and make this one close and perhaps extend a series that will already go on for one game too long?
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Betting Preview for Golden State Warriors vs Los Angeles Clippers NBA Playoff Round 1 Game 4 on April 21, 2019
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles
When: Sunday, April 21, 2019, 3:30 PM ET
Line: Golden State Warriors (odds) vs. Los Angeles Clippers (odds) – view all NBA lines
Series: 2-1 in favor of the Warriors
TV Broadcast: TNT
Betting on the Golden State Warriors (57-25 Regular Season)
It was all about Kevin Durant in this one, and that’s saying a lot when Curry scored 21 points in 20 minutes. The guard’s short play was due to some early foul trouble, but maintained as he was simply not needed with the star forward’s performance. Durant scored 38 points on 14/23 shooting which contributed to a Golden State Field Goal percentage of 54.8. Draymond Green was fun to watch with an electrifying dunk but even more impressive passing that had him end the game with 10 assists. Klay Thompson has been oddly quite though, with his second 12-point performance in the series, and he has yet to crack 20. He’ll be needed in the next series so look for him to get some extra looks over the next two games as they’ll need to build his momentum.
Game 3 may not be another blowout. After a win this season, the Warriors 25-32-1 against the spread (ATS), covering just 43.9% of the time. And on the season as a whole they are 37-47-1, covering only 44% of the time.
Betting on the Los Angeles Clippers (48-34 Regular Season)
Going into this affair the Clippers and the Warriors actually held the exact same 3-point make rate of 38.6%, tied for second best in the league. But over the last three playoff games that number is 34.4% for the Clips and 43% for the Warriors, and it shows, even with the game 2 anomaly. Once again beyond the arc play hurt Los Angeles, as on Thursday night they shot only 21.9% from 3-point range. Shots from inside didn’t fare well either, with the team only hitting their mark 37.2% of the time. With four players scoring in double-digits, not one hit for more than 20 as their high scorer was Ivaca Zubac who hit for 18 and pulled down 15 rebounds.
There was a lot of hype about the Clippers’ defensive aggression from the TNT broadcast bench at the onset of this game, but Kenny and co. seemed to forget that LA ranks just 21st in team defensive efficiency this season, and that was made very evident as they could not contain Durant who scored at will.
Will they at least make game four interesting for bettors? The Clippers are top six in the league when it comes to covering after a loss with an 20-15 ATS record.
Writer’s Prediction
Golden State wins again, but keeps it under ten with a final score of 112-103.
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