In the last game on Wednesday night in the Association, the Warriors will begin a five-game road trip against the Clippers at 2:00 p.m. AEDT (Thursday) on ESPN. These two teams played each other earlier this month when Golden State defeated Los Angeles 115-91 behind 34 points from Jordan Poole. The Warriors currently lead the season series (2-1) and would like to keep their advantage, especially with both teams fighting to stay out of the play-in tournament.
The Warriors (36-33) are on a two-game winning streak after losing the previous three games (all on the road) by an average of 12.6 points per game. Golden State has struggled mightily away from home this season (7-26), posting the worst record among all the teams in the playoff and play-in spots. However, the Warriors will hope they can build off their past two wins, the last of which saw Klay Thompson go off for 38 points in their 11-point win over Phoenix. Golden State is currently the fifth seed in the West but sits only a game behind the Suns for the fourth seed.
The Clippers (36-33) are behind the Warriors in the Western Conference standings and are fighting to stay out of the play-in tournament. The 10th-seed Lakers are just two games behind the Clippers, though, so they can't afford many more losses. Los Angeles enters tonight's game on a three-game winning streak after defeating the Knicks last weekend. The Clippers will need stars Paul George and Kawhi Leonard to outplay and outscore the Warriors' duo of Stephen Curry and Thompson.
Can the Warriors finally snap their eight-game road losing streak, or will the Clippers jump ahead of Golden State in the playoff standings? Below, we'll break down this late-night matchup while giving our prediction and best bets for basketball fans looking to win some cash.
Warriors vs. Clippers odds, picks, predictions
- Spread: Warriors +3.0 ($1.90); Clippers -3.0 ($1.90)
- Over/Under: 237.5
- Head-to-head: Clippers $1.70; Warriors $2.25
As previously noted, the Warriors have been one of the worst teams in the NBA on the road. Golden State has lost eight-straight games away from the Chase Center. During that stretch, the Warriors are only scoring 116.3 points per game. However, on the defensive end, Steve Kerr's crew has been getting crushed, allowing 127.1 points per game to opponents. If you do the math, the Warriors are getting outscored by 10.8 points per game, which is not a recipe for success.
Furthermore, Golden State has not been friendly to bettors either, as they are 8-24 against the spread on the road and 5-12 ATS as a road underdog this season. However, the Warriors are 8-7 ATS after being off two or three days and 20-21 ATS against teams from the Western Conference.
As for the Clippers, they have won three out of their past five games to start this month. In those three wins, George averaged (29.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 5.0 APG), while Leonard averaged (32.0 PPG, 8.7 RPG, and 3.3 APG). Los Angeles will need that production tonight to keep its winning streak going. The Clippers have been making bettors some money, going 15-18 ATS at home and 22-21 ATS as a favorite this season. However, when Los Angeles is favored by three points or less this season, they are 6-7 on the moneyline.
This figures to be a close game, but taking the Warriors on the money line makes sense. The last time we took the Warriors on the moneyline, they burnt us against the Grizzlies last week, but if Golden State can get off to a good start against the Clippers and Curry/Thompson do their thing, they should come away with a win.
Best Bet: Warriors to win ($2.25)
Best player prop bet for Warriors vs. Clippers: Kawhi Leonard 3+ threes made ($1.95)
The last time we placed a bet on Leonard's three-point prop, he only made and attempted one three-pointer against the Raptors last week. However, that will not deter us from taking another shot at it, as Leonard has a favorable matchup against Golden State's perimeter defense.
This season, the Warriors are allowing teams to shoot 36.3 percent from beyond the arc and 39.2 percent over their past three games. Additionally, they own the second-worst three-point defense on the road (40.7 percent) behind the Spurs. That being said, we should expect Leonard to dial it up from distance, as he's gone OVER 2.5 threes made in six out of his past 10 games.
One of those games was against the Warriors on March 2, where Leonard scored 33 points on 12-of-17 shooting from the field and 7-of-9 shooting from three-point range.
