The Denver Nuggets (42-21 SU, 30-33 ATS) take on the Los Angeles Clippers (43-21 SU, 36-27-1 ATS) for the third and final time this season on Saturday night. The season series is tied 1-1 with the Nuggets winning the most recent matchup at the beginning of April.
- Date/Time: May 1, 10 p.m. ET
- Arena: Staples Center
- TV Coverage: ESPN
- Sportsbook Odds: Clippers -5.5 | O/U 222.5 (Line History)
- Nuggets vs Clippers Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The game opened with the Clippers as favorites at -5.5 and the line has not moved at any sportsbooks as of Saturday night. The total was not posted as of writing on Saturday night.
Denver News & Notes
The Denver Nuggets have won four games in a row, are 8-2 in their last ten and sit comfortably in the top four in the Western Conference, half a game behind the Clippers.
The Nuggets were active at the trade deadline in March and made one of the biggest deals of the day in acquiring forward Aaron Gordon from the Orlando Magic. Gordon has averaged eleven points and five rebounds for the Nuggets since joining the team.
The added scoring depth has turned out to be a huge factor for Denver as they would go on to lose second-leading scorer and starting point guard Jamal Murray for the season less than two weeks later. The Nuggets brought in Austin Rivers this week to play some minutes at point guard.
In Murray’s absence, center Nikola Jokic’s case is league MVP is as strong as ever. Jokic is the only player in the league averaging 25+ points, 10+ rebounds and 8+ assists per game this season.
Los Angeles News & Notes
The Clippers are second in the league in offensive rating and back that up with the sixth-ranked field goal percentage, top-ranked free throw percentage and top-ranked three-point percentage.
Unfortunately for the Clippers, their top scorer Kawhi Leonard is out indefinitely with a foot injury. Leonard, who is averaging 25.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists this season, has missed nine of the team’s last ten games. Also missing from the Clippers lineup is power forward Serge Ibaka, the team’s fifth leading scorer and top rim protector, as well as point guard Patrick Beverley. Ibaka has not played since mid-March and is out indefinitely while Beverley is out 3-4 weeks with a hand injury.
With all the injuries, all-star Paul George has had to carry the team. The veteran ranks 21st in the league averaging 23.7 points per game and is hitting 42.2 per cent of his three pointers this season – a better average than any player in the top 20 in scoring not names Steph Curry.
Betting Pick: Nuggets +5.5
These teams have almost identical records and are close to evenly matched at full health. However, neither team is fully healthy. The Clippers are missing more firepower and you have to lay a bit of juice to take them. We like the Nuggets to cover.
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Buy Sports Picks Now- Denver are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games.
- The total has gone UNDER in 7 of LA Clippers' last 8 games.
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Denver's last 6 games.
