Tip-off: Monday, 10:35 p.m. ET
Line: Los Angeles -2.5, Total: 203

The Clippers look to continue a solid start to their season as when they host the defending champion Spurs on Monday night.

San Antonio has not had quite the start that it was hoping for in the 2014-15 season as it has won just 2-of-5 games SU while failing to cover in all five. Part of the Spurs issues have been shooting, which was amongst the best in the league last season, but has been 45% FG or worse in each of the past four contests. On Saturday they were 7-point favorites when they hosted the Hornets and earned the narrow 100-99 defeat despite outscoring their opponent 28-19 in the final quarter. They actually outrebounded the Anthony Davis-led Hornets, 49-30, but turned the ball over 18 times while letting New Orleans shoot 47.1% from the floor. Los Angeles has also failed to cover in all of its games, but has been able to pull out four SU wins in six chances while winning by a mere 5.0 PPG in the victories. The one area that the Clippers have dominated is turnovers as they have coughed up the rock just 10.7 times per contest while forcing their opponents into 18.5 miscues per game. On Saturday against the Trail Blazers they prevailed by a score of 106-102 as 4.5-point favorites and turned the ball over a mere seven times while outscoring Portland 53-40 in the second half and finishing with a 49.4% FG clip for the game. These two teams were involved in three blowouts last season as the winner took the game by double-digits each time with San Antonio going 2-1 (both SU and ATS) while shooting better than 48% from the floor in each contest. Overall since the start of the 2012-13 campaign, the Spurs are 4-3 SU while Los Angeles has been the better bet at 4-3 ATS. Trends show that San Antonio is 26-12 ATS (68%) when coming off an upset loss in the past three seasons, while the Clippers are a perfect 7-0 ATS after four straight games committing 4+ less turnovers than their opponents since 1996. The injury report has SG Marco Belinelli (groin) listed as questionable while C Tiago Splitter (calf) is out indefinitely for the Spurs. On the other hand, PF Blake Griffin (illness) is expected to play for Los Angeles in this contest.

Which Western Conference powerhouse will pick up its first ATS win on Monday night? For the answer, connect to The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2014-15 season. StatFox Zach posted a 54% ATS mark (65-56-4) in NBA Best Bets last season, while StatFox Forecaster had a 53.4% ATS (207-181-12) in featured games last season. StatFox Scott is off to a great start to the 2014-15 campaign at 67% ATS (6-3).

San Antonio has not been the efficient, high-paced offense of last season and is averaging just 92.8 PPG (5th-worst in league) while hitting a poor 43.2% of its shots (8th-worst in NBA). But the defense has not been terrible, allowing 96.8 PPG (44.7% FG) and has not given up more than 100 points in any contest. PF Tim Duncan (14.5 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 2.3 BPG) still remains a force at 38 years old and has three double-doubles despite shooting a poor 44% in the four games that he has played on the season. Last season, he did very well in the three meetings with the Clippers, tallying 18.3 PPG (45% FG), 11.7 RPG and one block per contest. PG Tony Parker (18.6 PPG, 4.2 APG) has been on the floor a ton this season (33.8 MPG) and had a great game in the loss to New Orleans with 28 points, four assists and three rebounds. In his career versus Los Angeles (41 games, 40 starts), he has averaged 16.8 PPG (51% FG) and 6.6 APG. SG Manu Ginobili (12.8 PPG) has not contributed much besides points so far this season, shooting a meager 39% from the floor from his sixth-man position. He has played the Clippers 38 times (14 starts) over his long career and dropped 13.6 PPG (50% FG) with 4.1 APG on them in that time.

Los Angeles is playing at its usual high pace and is putting up 103.3 PPG (10th in NBA) on 44.9% shooting while dropping 104 or more points in four of the past five contests. The big issue is keeping opposing offenses in check, as the club has allowed a poor 103.8 PPG (5th-worst in league) on 49.1% shooting (worst in NBA). PG Chris Paul (16.7 PPG, 10.5 APG, 4.5 RPG, 2.7 SPG) has double-digit assists in each of his past five performances while getting at least one steal in each game and actually has a block in 4-of-6 contests. He has done well in his 30 starts against the Spurs too, averaging 18.5 PPG (45% FG), 8.3 APG and 2.0 SPG. PF Blake Griffin (24.5 PPG, 6.3 RPG) has failed to be much of a factor on the boards this season while shooting a meager 46% on all FG attempts. He has faced San Antonio 13 times in his young career and has recorded 21.4 PPG (50% FG) and 10.2 RPG in those meetings. SG Jamal Crawford (20.2 PPG) has 20+ points in three of his past four games played, as he has produced 15.3 PPG (44% FG) over 31 career games (15 starts) against the Spurs. C DeAndre Jordan (9.0 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 1.8 SPG, 1.7 BPG) continues to be one of the best defensive players in the league and averaged 6.0 PPG (55% FG), 13.0 RPG and 3.7 BPG in three games against this opponent last season.