NBA: OKC Thunder vs. LA Clippers Preview, Odds, Head to Head, Prediction

The Oklahoma City Thunder chases the LA Clippers and the other teams holding one of the top six places in the West. For the moment, the Thunder is awfully close to the promised land and needs a few more pushes to reach it. On the other side, the Clippers are still inconsistent and irritate their fans. One night they show fantastic quality and championship potential, but on the next, they look like a broken army. And those jo-jo displays simply aren’t confident to consider the Clips a title material. 

Preview

OKC Thunder (36-36, +130) won four of the past five. Right now, the Thunder is one game behind the Warriors and one and a half behind the Clippers. Overall, the situation in the West is very tight because several teams sit close to one another, and all of them are between fourth and 11th place. 

SGA and his crew posted four victories in the previous four matches. What is their biggest weapon throughout the entire year is adaptability. The Thunder knows to play slow and fast, and they don’t have trouble adjusting to the rivals’ rhythm.

After beating the Spurs on the road, they were better than the Nets at home, before losing to the Toronto Raptors in Canada. Afterward, we saw the Thunder beating the Suns, 124-120, and then the Clippers, 101-100. 

The LA Clippers (38-35, -155) have five wins in the previous seven contests, but on the other side, those two defeats came over the past three clashes. Both losses came at home; the first was against the Orlando Magic, who triumphed at Crypto.com 113-108 and the second against the Thunder.

A big problem for the head coach Lue is Paul George’s injury, with PG leaving the floor two nights ago vs. Thunder. He will be out for the next 20 days, which is another blow to the Clippers’ morale and championship ambitions. 

The Clippers’ defense was playing well, and five of the past six games saw Under points. In general, the Clips have incredible defensive potential, but it appears that Lue can’t utilize it 100%. With George out, that’s bound to change. 

Head to Head Games

The Thunder won all three games against the Clippers this year, which is a significant advantage for them in the playoff race, with the tiebreaker on their side. OKC was better than the Clippers at home, 108-94 and 118-110. 

The most recent event from two nights ago saw Thunder winning 101-100. Shai had 31 buckets, while Jalen Williams scored 20 with eight boards. Kawhi ended with 21 for the Clippers, and George had 18. 

Prediction

The over/under line for this game is at 232 points. Given that all three previous meetings ended below this limit and that George won’t be available to play, we are picking under. The Clippers won’t have the offensive potential like with George in the lineup, and it’s reasonable to expect lower numbers on that side of the ball. Also, PG’s contribution to defense is massive. One more thing here, the second of back-to-back games between two same teams are usually much tougher than the opening ones, and teams play better defense. 

Pick: Under 232 points -110