The Clippers visit the Rockets in Houston on Wednesday night (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN/SN1), with both teams looking to bust out of mini-slumps with 22 games remaining in the regular season. This time of year always presents great value betting opportunities, so today we've pinpointed our best bets, top props and final score predictions for this Western Conference clash.
L.A. comes off a narrow loss to the surging Bucks on Monday, despite Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton being sidelined. While still 39-21, Ty Lue's Clippers have quietly lost six of their past 11 games and will go the rest of the regular-season campaign without sixth man Russell Westbrook (broken hand).
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Houston, meanwhile, now sits in 12th place in the Western Conference on the outside looking in on the Play-In Tournament. Ime Udoka's Rockets have been pesky at home though, going 20-10 at the Toyota Center (ninth-best home record in the NBA).
Will Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and James Harden right the ship and get the dub in Harden's old stomping grounds? Or, will Fred VanVleet and the scrappy Rockets hold court once again and deliver the Clips their seventh loss in 12 games?
Let's break down the odds for Clippers vs. Rockets, and unveil our best bets from BetMGM.
Clippers vs. Rockets predictions, player props, bets against the spread and moneyline
All odds and props are from BetMGM, an authorized gaming operator of the NBA.
- ATS: Clippers -6.5 (-110) | Rockets +6.5 (-110)
- Moneyline: Clippers -275 | Rockets +220
- Over/under: O 224.5 (-110) | U 224.5 (-110)
The sportsbooks clearly like the Clippers here, as L.A. has won nine of its past 10 meetings with Houston. The Rockets, however, might deserve a little more respect at home. They have gone 20-10 straight up (SU) and 19-10-1 ATS at Toyota Center. The Clips, meanwhile, have gone 18-13 SU on the road but just 16-15 ATS away from the Crypto.
Clippers vs. Rockets predictions, best bets
We like the Clippers to win this game, but don't love them as a nearly nine-point road favorite. They have gone just 1-3 the past three times they have been favored by 5.5 or more, with the only cover coming against the pitiful Wizards. They're also 1-3 ATS over their past four road games and just 2-8 ATS over their past 10.
Kawhi might be getting a bit tired, as he has played 55 of L.A.'s 60 games this season. It's already his most active regular season since 2019-20, and the Clippers have 22 games remaining. With Westbrook's hand hurt, they lost much-needed bench energy and now must get more out of Harden, George and Sixth Man of the Year candidate Norm Powell.
Houston has been no slouch on the defensive end. The Rockets rank sixth in defensive rating and 11th in opponent scoring, and they have limited foes to 112 or fewer points in four of their past five contests. Not too shabby, considering three of those games were against the Suns, and one was against the West-leading Thunder.
Areas where Houston could get into some trouble are playmaking and outside shooting. The Rockets dish out the third-fewest assists per game (24.6) in the NBA and maintain the third-fewest three-point percentage (34.8%). Young bigs Alperen Sengun and Jabari Smith Jr. also have limitations guarding the interior without fouling, so Houston ranks 26th in blocks, 25th in defensive rebounds and 28th in personal fouls.
If we bet the Clippers, we'll take on some juice and buy them down to -4. Or, we will buy a couple of points for the Rockets to get them a 8-point cover (whichever has less of a vig). And we're smashing the UNDER — eight of L.A.'s past 12 road games have gone UNDER, and the OVER has gone just 12-17-1 at Toyota Center this season.
FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: Clippers 114, Rockets 109 — The Clippers win (-275) but the Rockets eke out the cover (+6.5), with the score going well UNDER the total (224.5). Buy some points on one side or the other if you're betting the spread — the added insurance makes the extra juice worthwhile to take on.
Clippers vs. Rockets: Top player prop bet
Kawhi Leonard points — OVER 25.5 (-115)
Leonard must be the main catalyst for this Clippers' squad to succeed down the stretch. He's their go-to guy and primary playmaker — and he plays the most consistently on the road against top-tier defenses.
Kawhi scored a seemingly effortless 26 points when these teams last met in November, a narrow 106-100 victory by Los Angeles. He also dropped 30 in his lone game against the Rockets last season.
Bet on Leonard lighting a fuse under the stalling Clippers and getting some momentum going for the home stretch of the regular season.
