Denver (40-18) at LA Clippers (39-19)
When: Friday, February 28th, 2020
Where: Staples Center,
Los Angeles, CA
Time: 10:35 ET | TV: ESPN
Opening Odds: Los Angeles -6/222.5
The battle for second place in the Western Conference takes center stage Friday night at the Staples Center in L.A. as the Denver Nuggets visit the Los Angeles Clippers. Both teams were expected to battle for the West’s top seed, but the L.A. Lakers seem to be pulling away at the moment and have a five game lead over Denver entering Thursday’s action. The Clippers are one behind the Nuggets and have followed a three-game skid with a two-game winning streak after a 102-92 road win at the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday – one of our rare losses this week over on our NBA Free Picks page – behind 24 points and 14 rebounds from All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard. The win improved L.A. to 16-13 on the road, but are a solid 23-6 at Staples Center and 17-12 ATS. The Nuggets always seem to be one of the best home teams in the league (23-7) and are 17-11 away from home, but just 13-13-2 ATS. Denver is just one of five teams with 40+ victories after an easy 115-98 home victory over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday. It was the Nuggets’ second straight win after back-to-back losses to the Lakers and Oklahoma City. The home team has won each of the last four meetings including a 114-104 Denver victory back on Jan. 12.
The Nuggets shot lights-out on Tuesday, while playing very strong defense as well. Denver shot a sizzling 57.9 percent from the floor including 9-of-19 from beyond the arc and held the Pistons to a paltry 40.7 percent shooting. Point guard Jamal Murray scored 16 points and is averaging 25.1 points and 6.1 assists in eight games this month. Reserve power forward Jerami Grant led the way for the Nuggets versus the Pistons with a career-high 29 points on 12-of-15 shooting off the bench for just his fifth 20-point effort of the season. Forward Michael Porter Jr. contributed 13 points off the bench while also grabbing eight rebounds. The Nuggets will host the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
The Clippers defense has turned it up a notch in their last two wins, holding Phoenix and Memphis to under 100 points. For the season, L.A. ranks third in defensive field goal percentage at 43.6 and surrender 109.8 points a contest. Forward Marcus Morris scored 18 points – his most in six games since being acquired by the Clippers – but it was fellow newcomer Reggie Jackson who led the bench with 12 points in 16 minutes. Forward Paul George continues to struggle after scoring just 11 points in 28 minutes and is averaging 8.3 points on 12-of-46 shooting over his last four games. Sixth-man Lou Williams is averaging just seven points over the past two games after scoring 59 points total in the previous two contests. L.A. will host the road-inept Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.
This should be a pretty good game here, but the Clippers are still a better team and the home team in this series has won and covered seven of the last 10. The Clippers have been a little inconsistent lately, but they’ve played great the last two games.
Check out who Bobby Babowski has on his Free NBA Picks page for Friday. He is 67-51-3 on the season after a 8-0 run!
Pick: Clippers -5.5
Nuggets are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up win.
Nuggets are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
Nuggets are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
Nuggets are 2-6 ATS in their last 8 Friday games.
Clippers are 15-7 ATS in their last 22 games playing on 1 days rest.
Clippers are 6-13 ATS in their last 19 games following a straight up win.
Clippers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS win.
Clippers are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 Friday games.
Clippers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of greater than .600.
Over is 3-0-1 in Nuggets last 4 games following a straight up win.
Under is 7-1 in Nuggets last 8 games as a road underdog.
Under is 7-1 in Nuggets last 8 Friday games.
Over is 5-1 in Nuggets last 6 games following a ATS win.
Over is 4-1-1 in Nuggets last 6 overall.
Over is 4-1-1 in Nuggets last 6 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
Over is 4-1-1 in Nuggets last 6 games following a straight up win of more than 10 points.
Under is 4-1 in Nuggets last 5 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
Under is 7-2 in Nuggets last 9 games as an underdog.
Over is 6-2-1 in Nuggets last 9 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.
Under is 25-10 in Nuggets last 35 vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
Under is 4-0 in Clippers last 4 games as a favorite.
Under is 5-1 in Clippers last 6 overall.
Under is 5-1 in Clippers last 6 when their opponent scores 100 points or more in their previous game.
Under is 5-1 in Clippers last 6 after scoring 100 points or more in their previous game.
Under is 4-1 in Clippers last 5 games as a home favorite.
Over is 4-1 in Clippers last 5 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of greater than .600.
Under is 4-1 in Clippers last 5 vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
Under is 4-1 in Clippers last 5 home games.
Under is 6-2 in Clippers last 8 games playing on 1 days rest.
Under is 5-2 in Clippers last 7 games following a ATS win.
Over is 15-6 in Clippers last 21 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
Under is 11-5 in Clippers last 16 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
Nuggets are 2-5 ATS in the last 7 meetings in L.A..
Under is 37-16 in the last 53 meetings.
Under is 20-7 in the last 27 meetings in L.A..
Nuggets are 5-1 ATS in the last 6 meetings.
