At long last, the 2015-16 NBA regular season resumes this Thursday night with three spectacular matchups that’ll definitely put a huge smile on our faces.
One of those games will feature a colossal encounter at Staples Center, wherein the second-best team in the league—the San Antonio Spurs—and the surging Los Angeles Clippers face off for what’s bound to be a neck-and-neck bout between two Western Conference powerhouses.
[sc:NBA250 ]Who will reign supreme over the other? Will the Spurs continue their dominance? Or will the Clippers kick off the second half of the season on a high note?
Let’s now take a much closer look below at this must-see showdown. Meanwhile, you can check out our preview of the Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers.
[sc:NBAArticles ]San Antonio Spurs vs. Los Angeles Clippers Preview
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
When: Thursday, February 18, 2016, 10:30 PM ET
Line: San Antonio Spurs (-3.5) at Los Angeles Clippers (+3.5); total: 205.5– view all NBA lines
TV Broadcast: TNT
Betting on the San Antonio Spurs (45-8)
[sc:NBA250 ]San Antonio’s eight-game road trip got off to a solid start, with wins in its first two encounters opposite Miami and Orlando. In the latter game though, it’s worth noting that the Spurs were really pushed to the brink as they only managed to escape the Magic by two points. Nonetheless, a win is still a win and the five-time NBA champions will now look forward to their highly-anticipated showdown with the Los Angeles Clippers.
As always, defense will be the name of the game for the Spurs, who are only surrendering a league-low of 91.8 points this season. They’ve also been able to remove their opponents away from their comfort zones, forcing them to commit an average of 14.8 turnovers per contest. The Spurs, however, might need all the errors they can get out of the Clippers’ high-octane offense (104.7 points per outing).
Speaking of offense, expect the Spurs to continue thriving under head coach Gregg Popovich’s anti-hero-ball system. They are posting 25.4 assists as a team and their pair of All-Stars in Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge has done a tremendous job in leading their attack. Both are the team’s top point-getters this year, tallying 20.2 and 17.0 points, respectively.
Also, Patty Mills, who is putting up 8.4 points across 53 games, has been a big spark off the bench as of late. He scored 17 points along with seven dimes in the game versus Orlando. And in his last game versus the Clippers, Mills went 3-for-9 from the field for a total of eight points to help the Spurs notch the 115-107 victory.
San Antonio is 8-2 SU and 6-4 ATS in its previous 10 road games.
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Betting on the Los Angeles Clippers (35-18)
Even with Blake Griffin still on the sidelines, the Clippers are still a dangerous team that has enough firepower to take down the visiting San Antonio Spurs tonight. And there’s no question that Chris Paul will waste no time in bringing the fight to them.
Paul, the 30-year-old star point guard, has been proving lately that he can still carry a team on his shoulders. He enters this bout averaging 23.6 points and 7.8 assists in his previous seven games. That stretch includes their final game before the All-Star break, wherein Paul posted 35 points and 13 dimes despite the 139-134 loss to Boston.
Furthermore, Paul is highly-unlikely to be intimidated by the NBA’s No. 1 defensive team. The former Hornets guard is garnering 18.9 points, 8.6 dimes and 2.0 steals throughout 35 career games opposite the Spurs.
Meanwhile, sharp-shooters J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford are also bound to make life difficult for the opposing defense. Those two have never been shy to unload shots this season, tallying 16.4 and 13.5 points, respectively. Redick, in particular, will be trying to build on his performance in their previous meeting with San Antonio on December 18, during which he had 14 points and went 3-for-6 from three-point territory.
Over on defense, the Clippers will look to none other than DeAndre Jordan to negate any shots near the paint and relentlessly crash the boards for those easy put-back dunks. Jordan is currently second in the league in rebounds (14.0) and blocks (2.3) this season. He’s also contributing double-figure numbers in points with 12.1 per outing.
Los Angeles, which is allowing an average of 100.8 points, is 7-3 SU and 6-4 ATS in its previous 10 games at Staples Center.
Writer’s Prediction
Clippers (+3.5) win a close one, 99-93.
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