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The LA Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers will start a two-game mini-series starting on Wednesday. Los Angeles, which is unbeaten against their opponents, can decisively win the head-to-head fixture by grabbing another victory in the first encounter. Even if the Clippers are on the road, they are heavily favored to walk away with a W as the hosts are undermanned.
The Blazers will not have Robert Williams, Shaedon Sharpe and Malcolm Brogdon in the showdown. Adding to Portland’s concerns are the uncertainties of Jerami Grant and Matisse Thybulle for the game. Deandre Ayton, Anfernee Simons and Scoot Henderson will have to play doubly well for the Blazers to have a chance of winning.
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Los Angeles has been struggling this month, posting a 6-4 win-loss slate when they badly needed to continue stringing wins together. Portland is undermanned but it can’t overlook the home team as the Blazers have nothing to lose. LA has two players iffy to play but its trio of superstars will be active to lead its campaign.
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LA Clippers vs Portland Trail Blazers: Preview, prediction and betting tips
Moda Center will host the tussle between the LA Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday. ROOT SPORTS/ROOT SPORTS Plus and Bally Sports SoCal will handle local coverage of the game. Streaming is also available by subscribing to the NBA League Pass.
Moneyline: Clippers (-750) vs. Blazers (+525)
Spread: Clippers (-11.5) vs. Blazers (+11.5)
Total (O/U): Clippers (o215.5 -110) vs. Blazers (u215.5 -110)
Editor’s Note: The odds could change closer to the game. The odds listed were as per available information at the time of the writing.
LA Clippers vs Portland Trail Blazers: Game preview
Injuries to key players have slowed down the LA Clippers since looking unbeatable from mid-December to early February. Russell Westbrook remains out but Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and James Harden are playing through injuries. As long as they have their Big Three, they will be tough to beat.
LA will go all-out for a win to keep the fourth spot in the wild West. They will be desperate to finish strong to end the regular season with home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
The Portland Trail Blazers’ last four wins have come against injury-riddled teams. They will not have that luxury when they host the Clippers. LA isn’t fully healthy but it will have the Leonard-George-Harden trio. Portland will have to execute well on both ends of the floor to prevent the visitors from steadily pulling away.
LA Clippers vs Portland Trail Blazers: Starting lineups, subs and rotations
F - Paul George, F - Kawhi Leonard, C - Ivica Zubac, PG - James Harden and SG - Amir Coffey will open the game for the LA Clippers.
Clippers coach Ty Lue will have to make adjustments as Norman Powell and Terance Mann are both questionable. He could insert P.J. Tucker for Zubac before the first quarter ends to space the floor more for Harden, Leonard and George. From there, Lue will likely make his substitutions based on how his players are performing.
F - Toumane Camara, F - Kris Murray, C - Deandre Ayton, SG - Anfernee Simons and PG - Scoot Henderson will start for the Portland Trail Blazers.
Jabari Walker has been playing well for Chauncey Billups this month so he might turn out to be the Blazers’ sixth man on Wednesday. If Henderson struggles, Dalano Banton could also come in early for him.
Editor’s Note: These are predicted starting lineups, which could change depending on the availability of players uncertain to play.
LA Clippers vs Portland Trail Blazers: Betting tips
Anfernee Simons has a 23.5 over/under points prop. Simons has been on fire in his last three games, averaging 30.3 PPG on 44.6% shooting. With the way he has been playing, he could get over his points prop.
Kawhi Leonard has a 24.5 over/under points prop. Like Simons, “The Claw” has been superb in scoring the ball in his last three games where he is averaging 26.0 PPG on 57.1% shooting. Against Portland’s undermanned roster, he could easily top his points prop.
LA Clippers vs Portland Trail Blazers: Prediction
The LA Clippers need to win games and the Portland Trail Blazers’ decimated lineup is a bad combination for the home team. Leonard and his teammates could romp to an overwhelming victory and beat the hosts and the +11.5 spread.
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