Kick-off: 0230, 01/11/2019
Stadium: Staples Center
TV: Sky Sports Arena
The San Antonio Spurs will see their 100 per cent start to the 2019-20 NBA season come under severe threat when they travel to the Los Angeles Clippers for their first road trip of the campaign, writes Josh Luckhurst.
Gregg Popovich’s side have claimed three wins from three at the AT&T Center to be just one of two sides to hold perfect records, alongside the Philadelphia 76ers, who inflicted the first defeat on the previously unbeaten Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday evening.
However, Los Angeles have already seen off arch-rivals the Lakers and title contenders Golden State Warriors and we believe they have the squad depth to claim victory at the price of 12/25 for our first Spurs at Clippers prediction.
A Look At Los Angeles Clippers’ Betting Odds
The Clippers have had a roller-coaster start to their campaign, despite being just five games old, with three impressive wins and two surprising defeats.
Doc Rivers’ side saw off the Lakers, who were the pre-season favourites for the title, and serial winners the Warriors and the Charlotte Hornets, but fell to a loss against the Phoenix Suns and suffered a 110-96 reverse to the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.
However, key man Kawhi Leonard was rested during the Jazz defeat in order to take on former team Spurs and his freshness could be the difference between the two sides.
Leonard averages 27 points in four matches since joining the Clippers from reigning champions Toronto Raptors in the off-season, adding 7.5 assists per game, and has a shooting percentage of 51.9 – with Los Angeles making an NBA-high 51.1 per cent of their shots.
In theory, this should be a close-fought contest, but the winners of this clash have won by six points or more in 11 of the last 14 match-ups.
With this in mind, a price of 5/4 for Los Angeles to win by at least seven points appeals from the Spurs at Clippers odds.
A Look At San Antonio Spurs’ Betting Odds
San Antonio’s campaign could not get much better after they eased past the New York Knicks, Washington Wizards and Portland Trail Blazers in their opening fixtures.
The Spurs are on the road for the first time in the 2019-20 campaign, though, and it may be a cause of concern for the travelling fans.
Popovich’s side had a record of 16-25 away from the AT&T Center last season, while the Clippers’ won 25 matches at the Staples Center in the 18-19 campaign – with the home side prevailing in five of the last seven head-to-head clashes.
The Clippers will have their work cut out, as they face a defensively sound outfit, who sit in joint first for rebounds per game (51.3) and second in blocks (7.0 per match), but are also one of the most prolific teams at the other end of the court.
San Antonio sit second in the list for field goal percentage at 48.2 and average the sixth-highest points at 119.0 per game to give some optimism for their opening road trip match.
Despite both teams combining for an average match total of 235.4 per game, only four of their last 21 meetings have registered over 222 total points.
And at a price of 3/2 for 221 points or less in total, that concludes our Spurs at Clippers betting tips.
Additional stats
Last result:
Utah 110-96 CLIPPERS
SPURS 113-110 Portland
Head-to-head: Spurs 95-103 Clippers, Clippers 111-122 Spurs, Spurs 125-87 Clippers, Clippers 116-111 Spurs
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