After two wins at home, the Portland Trail Blazers have evened out their series with the West’s fourth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers. But can the Blazers take a crucial win at Staples Center to erase the Clips’ home court advantage? Read on for a complete preview for this series’ crucial Game 5.
While you’re at it, you can also check out our previews of Houston vs. Golden State and Charlotte vs. Miami as we draw ever closer to the second round of the NBA Playoffs.
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Portland Trail Blazers vs. Los Angeles Clippers Game 5 Preview
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles
When: Wednesday, April 27, 10:00 PM ET
Line: Portland Trail Blazers (-3) at Los Angeles Clippers (+3); total: 197.5 – view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast: NBATV/KGW
Betting on the Portland Trail Blazers
Leading the way for the Blazers in Game 4 was Al-Farouq Aminu who scored a career-high 30 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the field. It was a brilliant all-around performance from Aminu who also had 10 rebounds, three assists and three blocks in this game. Also stepping up big time for the Blazers was C.J. McCollum. He scored 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the floor. McCollum is averaging 23 points over his last two games.
What proved to be the difference in this Game 4 win, however, was Portland’s excellent rebounding. They grabbed a total of 58 boards in Game 4, 16 of which came on the offensive end. They will need to replicate that feat in Game 5 for them to grab the edge in this series. The Blazers are averaging 57 rebounds in their two wins thus far in this series. In their two losses to the Clippers though, they’re averaging just 46 boards per game.
The Blazers are 2-8 SU and 4-6 ATS in their last 10 road games.
Betting on the Los Angeles Clippers
The injury bug has once again bitten the Los Angeles Clippers.
Not only will they miss Chris Paul for 3-6 weeks because of a fractured right hand, the Clippers will also be without star forward Blake Griffin for the remainder of the playoffs after he reinjured his left quad tendon in Game 4 of their series against the Blazers. That’s a huge blow for a franchise that was poised to make a deep run in this year’s playoffs. Paul and Griffin led the Clippers in scoring this postseason, averaging 23.8 and 15.0 points per game, respectively.
It’s tough to see this Clippers team progressing without Paul in their lineup. During the regular season, Los Angeles outscored opponents by 11.9 points per 100 possessions with Paul on the floor and was outscored by 4.7 points per 100 possessions with him off the floor. That’s a swing in net efficiency of 16.6 points per 100 possessions. The only players with a bigger swing are reigning MVP Stephen Curry (22.1) and Draymond Green (26.0).
With Paul and Griffin out, the onus is on DeAndre Jordan, Jamal Crawford and J.J. Redick to carry the scoring load for the Clippers. They’re averaging a combined 35.4 points per game in this year’s playoffs. It would be interesting to see how this trio will function without their superstar teammates, though. Jordan, Crawford and Redick were on the court without Paul and Griffin for only 59 possessions all season. The Clippers shot 14-of-40 from the field, were 3-of-16 from 3-point range and committed seven turnovers during that span.
The Clippers are 9-1 SU and 4-5-1 ATS in their last 10 home games against the Blazers.
Writer’s Prediction
Portland (-3) wins, 99-90, to grab a 3-2 series lead.
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