Clippers Lose Four Straight Without Chris Paul
The Clippers have lost four straight games, and have been without All Star point guard Chris Paul for the last three. In his absence, the Clippers have learned just how valuable Paul is to their chances of winning; they were seven point underdogs against the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday night, and while they did cover the spread, they lost the game 101-100. Here were a few of the betting trends for these two teams heading into Saturday’s game:
Portland Trail Blazers Trends:
When playing on Sunday are 6-4
Before playing Dallas are 6-4
After playing LA Clippers are 6-4
After a win are 6-4
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Los Angeles Clippers Trends:
When playing on Sunday are 4-6
Before playing Minnesota are 7-3
After playing Portland are 6-4
After a loss are 3-7
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A few Trail Blazers at Clippers trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Portland’s last 11 games on the road
Portland is 14-6 SU in their last 20 games when playing LA Clippers
Portland is 6-3 SU in their last 9 games when playing on the road against LA Clippers
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Portland’s last 6 games when playing on the road against LA Clippers
LA Clippers are 14-2 SU in their last 16 games at home
LA Clippers are 18-7 SU in their last 25 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of the LA Clippers last 7 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of the LA Clippers last 6 games when playing at home against Portland
The Clippers tried to bring back Chris Paul from a bruised kneecap against the Golden State Warriors on Monday, January 21, but it was obvious from tip-off that Paul was not at 100 percent.
“You could see he doesn’t have that extra burst like he usually has,” Del Negro said. “It’s nice to have him out there because he settles everything down. It’s just that he can’t play at the level he’s used to with the injury.”
The Clippers sat Paul down again on the 22nd against the Thunder and lost that game, and then lost again on Thursday to the Suns, the most alarming loss in their mini Chris Paul-less slump. Their latest loss came last night in their 101-100 loss to the Trail Blazers. It’s well known in NBA circles that Chris Paul is one of the most valuable players in the league not just from a gameplay standpoint, but also from a coaching one; he runs the floor with unparalleled expertise and precision. When he isn’t out there, the effects on the Clippers offense are obvious and dramatic.
“Chris is the orchestrator. He’ll organize everything out there,” Crawford said. “There’s no way to replace him, but collectively we’ll get it together.”
“Our offense was stagnant,” Blake Griffin said after his team’s 93-88 loss to the dreadful Phoenix Suns. “Our defense wasn’t great. We did a poor job, and it starts with me. I have to do a better job of setting the tone early and being a leader out there, especially with Chris not out there.
The Clippers take on the Portland Trail Blazers again tonight, but with two key differences: this game will be played in the Staples Center, and Chris Paul is expected to play. The Clips are 6.5 point favorites in the match, and I like them to bounce back and cover the spread. They lost by one point on the road to this Portland team without their best player; don’t expect that to happen on their home turf.
