Clippers Build Lead with Friday Win, Golden State Loss

The Los Angeles Clippers were able to add to their Pacific Division lead on Friday night with a 105-89 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, while the Golden State Warriors, sitting nine games back for second place in the division, lost 94-86 to the Boston Celtics.

The Clippers had not won in Cleveland since 2002, but their victory on Friday night was decisive. The Cavaliers were missing Kyrie Irving, undoubtedly their best player, and the Clippers were seven-point favorites as a result. They obviously very easily covered the spread;  Cleveland’s best player outside of Irving, Dion Waiters, only had 17 points. The Clippers, on the other hand, were brutally efficient, with six players scoring in double figures and Jamal Crawford scoring 24 points off the bench. It was a decisive and easy win for the Clippers, who face a much tougher challenge today against their biggest rivals in the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder. Here were a few of the betting trends for both the Clippers and Cavs heading into their Friday night clash, per OddShark.com:

Los Angeles Clippers Trends:
When playing on Friday are 6-4
Before playing Oklahoma City are 5-5
After playing Indiana are 2-8
After a win are 6-4

 

Cleveland Cavaliers Trends:
When playing on Friday are 5-5
Before playing New York are 1-9
After playing Toronto are 2-8
After a win are 6-4

 

A few Clippers at Cavaliers trends to consider:
LA Clippers are 7-1 SU in their last 8 games
LA Clippers are 5-1 SU in their last 6 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 4 of the LA Clippers last 6 games when playing Cleveland
LA Clippers are 1-11 SU in their last 12 games when playing Cleveland
Cleveland is 5-0 SU in their last 5 games when playing at home against LA Clippers
Cleveland is 11-1 SU in their last 12 games when playing LA Clippers
Cleveland is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Cleveland’s last 5 games

The Golden State Warriors were also on an East coast road trip, though theirs turned out a little differently. Coming off of Stephen Curry’s historic 54-point performance in Madison Square Garden (despite the Warriors losing), Golden State had high hopes in Boston, though Doc Rivers’ decision to switch to a zone defense against the Dubs almost immediately paid dividends. The Warriors shot only 34 percent from the field, and Curry only made six of 22 field goal attempts.

“We missed shots. We turned the basketball over. We allowed them to get it going in transition a little bit,” Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. “They played great defense. They battled and they won the ballgame.”

The Celtics were three-point favorites heading into their home game. The line was most likely set on the assumption that Curry would continue his red hot shooting, though that didn’t turn out to be the case. Here were betting trends between the two teams, courtesy of OddShark.com:

Golden State Warriors Trends:
When playing on Friday are 3-7
Before playing Philadelphia are 6-4
After playing New York are 2-8
After a loss are 3-7

Boston Celtics Trends:
When playing on Friday are 7-3
Before playing Philadelphia are 6-4
After playing Utah are 7-3
After a win are 6-4

 

A few Warriors at Celtics trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 11 of Golden State’s last 13 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 12 of Golden State’s last 17 games
Golden State is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Boston
Golden State is 3-8 ATS in its last 11 games
Boston is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
Boston is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games when playing at home against Golden State
Boston is 10-4 SU in its last 14 games
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Boston’s last 15 games at home