Blazers Small Home Underdogs Hosting Clippers

The Portland Trail Blazers (11-13 SU, 9-15 ATS) host the Los Angeles Clippers (12-12, 10-14) on Monday in their fourth meeting of the season. Portland has dropped five of its last six games while Los Angeles is 1-4 in its last five outings.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The Clippers opened as 2-point favorites on the road while the total was set at 215.5 points. The OVER is 5-2 in the last seven meetings. Portland is 1-5 ATS in its last six games while Los Angeles is 1-6 ATS in its last seven contests.

Los Angeles News & Notes

The Clippers’ last two losses have come at the hands of the Sacramento Kings, who defeated LA 104-99 in their last outing on Saturday. Marcus Morris Sr. led the Clippers with 21 points while Paul George had a modest 15 points and 10 assists for a double-double. Terence Davis did most of the damage for Sacramento, dropping 28 points in just 29 minutes of work.

Los Angeles has now fallen to 1-4 in its last five games and 3-7 over its last 10. George, who leads the team with 25.1 points per game, has hit a bit of a cold patch, scoring under 20 points in four of his last eight contests.

Nicolas Batum (conditioning) remains out for Monday’s matchup.

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Portland News & Notes

The Trail Blazers took a whupping from the Boston Celtics in their last game, falling 145-117 on Saturday. Jayson Tatum and Dennis Schroder dropped 31 points each for Boston to lead all scorers while CJ McCollum topped Portland’s scoresheet with 24.

Portland’s defense has been a sore spot of late, allowing 123.5 points per game over its current 1-5 skid. That’s significantly worse than the team’s season average of 111.7 points against per game – the 25th-ranked defense in the NBA.

Damian Lillard (abdominal) has not played since November 29 and remains out for Monday’s game. McCollum (ribs) is probable, Nassir Little (ankle) is questionable and Anfernee Simons (ankle) is out.

How Los Angeles Will Cover

In the absence of Kawhi Leonard, the Clippers certainly aren’t the team that they were last season but they’ve still got one of the league’s best players in George as well as Reggie Jackson, who’s having one of the best seasons of his career. Coming up against a weak Portland defense, Los Angeles should be able to run up the score and secure the win.

How Portland Will Cover

People often talk about home-court advantage and the Trail Blazers have taken that to heart this season, posting a 10-3 record at home while going 1-10 on the road. While they may be underdogs on Monday, the Trail Blazers have been one of the NBA’s best teams at home this season – in fact, only the Golden State Warriors have more home wins. Another home win could be in the cards.

Computer Pick: Trail Blazers +3.5

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