L.A. Clippers (28-16) at Indiana (23-21)
When: Tuesday, January 26th 2016
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Time: 7:05 ET | TV: Prime Ticket, FSN Indiana
Two struggling teams meet in Indianapolis tonight as the Indiana Pacers host the Los Angeles Clippers. Indiana begins a tough four-game homestand after coming back from the West Coast losing three out of four with the lone win coming against lowly Phoenix by just three points. The defense struggled on the trip giving up an average of 113.3 points a game including 129 to Denver and 122 to Golden State. Indiana finished up a stretch of nine of 11 on the road with a 108-97 loss at Sacramento on Saturday and is ready to get back home. Paul George broke out of a mini-slump and poured in 34 points on Saturday after failing to reach 20 points in the previous three games. George scored a game-high 31 points on December 2nd when the Pacers went into L.A. and beat the Clippers 103-91. Indiana outscored the Clippers by 15 in the second half in route to the win. The defense was very strong in that one holding Los Angeles to just 38.0% shooting. The Pacers are currently hanging on to the 8th and final playoff spot in the East – a game and a half ahead of Charlotte.
Open an Account at Bovada Sportsbook Now! Sign up at Bovada.lv to get up to a $250 Deposit Bonus and to bet all the Web’s best NBA Basketball odds and props!
The Clippers meanwhile, are having struggles of their own. They have lost three of their last five after riding a 10-game winning streak. The bench was outscored 51-27 in Sunday’s 112-94 loss at Toronto. “I think our bench was thinking about scoring instead of defending,” Clippers coach Doc Rivers told reporters. “It happens a lot. You come into the game and you have a lead and you think you’re going to add to the lead instead of understanding the way we got the lead was because we were getting stops.” Star Blake Griffin has missed the last 13 games with a quad injury, but is now traveling with the team and is nearing a return. Chris Paul has put up some nice numbers lately scoring an average of 24.2 points over his last four games and dishing out 45 assists in that span. The Clippers are firmly in the number four seed out West with no chance of catching Golden State. The five-game road trip will conclude tomorrow night in Atlanta.
The Clippers seem to be wearing out on this road trip and the Pacers are glad to be home finally. I’ll take Indiana in this pickem game.
Pick: Pacers PK
