Two top teams in the NBA are set to meet in a inter-conference showdown in the City of Angels. The Los Angeles Clippers (31-27, 14-12 home) welcome the Milwaukee Bucks (38-17, 15-12 away) to the West Coast for their second meeting of the season. Milwaukee knocked off Los Angeles, 106-105, in Wisconsin earlier this month.
Friday’s showdown is at 10:30 p.m. EST inside crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California. The Clippers are a 1.5-point favorite, and the over/under total is 226.5 points.
What to Know – Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee began its West Coast swing earlier this week with a win at Portland and kept it going last night with a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. The Bucks are second in the Eastern Conference, one-game behind the Boston Celtics.
Offensively the Bucks sit in the middle of the league averaging 114.5 points per game thanks to 46.3% shooting from the floor and 35.6% shooting from three. Milwaukee’s defense ranks seventh in the NBA limiting opponents to 111.7 ppg, 45.3% shooting from the field, and 34.7% from the 3-point line.
The offense is engineered by seven-time All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo. The 7’0 shooter is third in the league averaging 32.3 ppg thanks to a 54.2% shooting effort from the floor. If Jrue Holiday isn’t feeding the ball to Antetokounmpo, he’s racking up points himself, sitting second on the team, tallying 19.1 ppg.
The Bucks are 30-22-3 against the spread this season and 12-12-3 in games played on the road. Milwaukee is trending in the right direction with a 5-2 record ATS over its last seven contests.
What to Know – Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles is 7-3 over its last ten games and remains in good position to return to the postseason. The Clippers will try and rebound at home after suffering a six-point defeat to the Dallas Mavericks on their home floor Wednesday night.
The Clippers offense is near the bottom of the NBA, scoring 111.1 ppg behind 46.7% shooting from the field and 37.8% shooting from deep. On defense, Los Angeles is one of the best in the league limiting teams to 110.8 ppg, 46.8% shooting from the floor, and 36.1% shooting from beyond the arc.
The Clippers have the luxury of not one, but two scorers in the starting lineup. Paul George (23.4 ppg) and Kawhi Leonard (22.0 ppg) both can get buckets in bunches for the Los Angeles offense, although Leonard has been ruled out for this contest. Norman Powell adds an outside presence, leading the team hitting 42% of his attempts from three.
Los Angeles is 29-29 ATS for the year and 12-14 ATS at home. The Clippers are 4-2 ATS over their last six against opponents from the Eastern Conference.
The Pick is In
Milwaukee comes into this one on the heels of back-to-back games and its third in five days. Fatigue is expected and the Clippers should be ready to take advantage of it and get back into the win column after the home loss earlier this week. Even with Leonard sidelined, we like the hosts to get it done.
The Pick: Los Angeles Clippers -1.5
