Raptors @ Clippers tips and picks: New-look Raptors on an offensive roll
- George Dempsey
- 10 January 2024
The Toronto Raptors (15-22) visit the LA Clippers (23-23) in the NBA on Wednesday night (0300 GMT Thurs) for the second of a back-to-back in Tinseltown.
The Kings beat the Pistons three times over last night, coming from 20 points behind, surrendering a sizeable 15-point lead and eventually winning by 21.
It showcased the best and worst of the Pistons as they dug in at points, before collapsing and going six or seven minutes without a field goal.
We’re targeting back-to-back winners as we take a trip to LA this evening where the new and improved Toronto Raptors meet the LA Clippers.
The Raptors played just last night, losing by one to the Lakers, but the lack of travel negates this back-to-back spot a little.
It’s a slight concern their starters logged a combined 162 minutes, but it was a productive evening. RJ Barrett (23), Pascal Siakam (25), Scottie Barnes (26) and Immanuel Quickley (21) all scored well.
The Clippers are healthy, sporting a strong winning record and at 7-3 through their last 10, they’re playing some of their best ball of the season.
They thrashed the Phoenix Suns 138-111 last time out. They shared the scoring but Paul George led the way with 25 while James Harden dished out 10 assists.
As good as they’ve been, they’ve won just three of those games by double digits. They’ve beaten the Suns twice, the Mavericks and the Hornets by nine or fewer.
It’s also worth noting that the Raptors had two days off before this trip, while this is the Clippers' third game in four nights, which can be a tough spot.
There are also two standout trends: Teams who scored 134+ points in their previous game have got 177-228-10ATS in their next game, failing to cover the spread 56.3% of the time.
In addition to that, double-digit favourites have gone 49-79-2ATS in non-conference games over the past two seasons, failing to cover the spread 61.7% of the time.
It was December 16 the last time anyone beat the Raptors by more than 10. They’ve kept within that number against Philly, Denver and Boston.
The new-look Raptors post-trade deadline has scored 130+ points in three consecutive outings as they shift towards a more offensive approach.
The Clippers have been a covering machine at home but you rarely see them as a double-digit favourite. They were -11.5 against Charlotte, who are not 1.5 points worse than the Raptors.
The line looks to be giving the back-to-back spot too much consideration in our opinion.
