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Clippers try to cool off Blazers on Wednesday
By: Freddy Wander - StatFox
Published: 1/14/2015  at  6:17:00 AM
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LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS (25-13)

at PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (30-8)

Tip-off: Wednesday, 10:35 p.m. ET
Line: Portland -3.5, Total: 206

The Trail Blazers will attempt to get their fifth straight victory when they host the Clippers on Wednesday night.

Los Angeles has had an underwhelming season so far at 16-22 ATS, but comes into this one as an SU winner in five of its past seven contests. In that time, the Clippers faced some of the weaker competition in the NBA while being favored in each of the seven games, and gave double-digit points in five of them. Los Angeles has not done much in terms of forcing turnovers recently, making the opposition cough up the rock a mere 11.8 times per game over the past four matchups. The Clippers took a tough loss in their meeting at home against the Heat this past Sunday in a 104-90 game where they were favored by 10 points. They were outrebounded 46-27 in the game, as they allowed Miami to make 39-of-81 field goal attempts (48.1% FG). Portland has flown somewhat under the radar this season and comes into this game as an SU winner in four consecutive games (2-2 ATS) while suffering just two defeats since Dec. 13 (15 games). Over that stretch, the Blazers are 10-5 ATS as they have looked tremendous on the defensive side of the ball while limiting opponents to 96.8 PPG. Portland's last win came Sunday against the Lakers on the road as it earned a 106-94 victory as a 5.5-point favorite and hit 47.7% of its field goal attempts. Playing away from home has been difficult for the Clippers so far, as they are 8-7 SU (6-9 ATS) when playing on the road, while the Trail Blazers are a solid 18-3 SU (12-8-1 ATS) on their home court. These teams played an exciting game already this season when Portland traveled to Staples Center as a 4.5-point underdog and barely covered the spread with Los Angeles winning 106-102. In the previous two seasons, this matchup has been quite close, with the Clippers holding a 4-3 SU edge (3-3-1 ATS) with the victor winning by six or fewer points in four of those contests. Some trends to watch on Wednesday include L.A. going 18-7 ATS (72%) off an upset loss as a favorite in the past two seasons while the Blazers are 34-18 ATS (65%) after covering two of their past three ATS over the same timeframe. The Clippers come into this one with a clean slate on the injury front, while Portland will continue to play without the services of big men C Robin Lopez (hand) and C Joel Freeland (shoulder).

Can the Blazers extend their win streak against a tough opponent on Wednesday night? For the answer, connect to The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2014-15 season. StatFox Forecaster has a strong 55% ATS record (98-80-1) in featured games this season. In terms of Best Bets, the experts have a stellar 73% ATS (33-12) record since Jan. 2, led by StatFox Scott, who is a sizzling 75% ATS (12-4) in Best Bets since Dec. 21, improving his record to 55% ATS (31-25) for the season. StatFox Brian is 65% ATS (22-12) in Best Bets since Nov. 29, and is now 57% ATS (32-24) in season Best Bets, while StatFox Gary is 7-2 ATS in NBA Best Bets since Jan. 1, and 57% ATS (32-24) this season.

The Clippers have been their usual selves on the offensive side of the ball with a ton of points (106.4 PPG, 5th in league) behind 47.3% shooting from the floor (3rd in NBA). They have lacked somewhat on defense though, by allowing opponents to score 100.0 PPG against them while hitting 45.5% of their shots. PG Chris Paul (17.9 PPG, 9.6 APG, 4.5 RPG, 1.9 SPG) has had four double-doubles in his past five games while shooting 54% from the field and 48% from three-point range in that time. Paul has now faced the Blazers 29 times in his career and gone for 15.0 PPG (46% FG), 9.2 APG, 4.1 RPG and 2.6 SPG. PF Blake Griffin (22.7 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 5.0 APG) has scored at least 22 points in each of his past four performances and has hit an amazing 30-of-47 shots (64% FG) in his past three contests. He’s never had any issues lighting up Portland over 14 career starts, averaging 21.7 PPG (52% FG) and 10.9 RPG. C DeAndre Jordan (9.4 PPG, 13.5 RPG, 2.3 BPG) had three straight double-doubles before putting up a dud (6 points, 6 rebounds) against the Heat on Sunday night. Jordan also played poorly in his three games against the Blazers last season, while scoring 5.3 PPG (50% FG) to go along with 8.3 RPG and 1.0 BPG.

Portland sits right behind its Wednesday opponent offensively with 103.8 PPG (6th in league) on 45.1% shooting, as it has scored 100+ points in five of the past seven contests. It is the Blazers defense that has taken them to the next level though, as they are leading the NBA in points allowed (96.4 PPG) behind 42.8% shooting (2nd in league). PF LaMarcus Aldridge (22.9 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 1.2 BPG) is coming off a below-average game (15 points, 9 rebounds) by his standards in the defeat over the Lakers on Sunday. He hopes to bounce back against a Clippers team which he has averaged 17.7 PPG (48% FG) and 7.7 RPG against over 23 career meetings (22 starts). PG Damian Lillard (22.2 PPG, 6.3 APG, 4.8 RPG, 1.4 SPG) has sandwiched two 34-point performances against the Lakers between three games where he netted 16 points over the past five contests while he averaged just 5.4 APG in that time. He hasn’t been as big of a scorer as usual when facing Los Angeles though, producing 16.6 PPG (47% FG) to go along with 4.8 APG. SG Wesley Matthews (16.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 1.1 SPG) has connected on 10-of-19 three-point attempts over the past three games and has also been big defensively with six steals in his past two contests. Last season when he faced the Clippers, Matthews was able to tally 17.0 PPG on a meager 36% shooting from the floor, and failed to do much else.


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