It isn’t how you get to the postseason rather it’s about getting there. And the Los Angeles Clippers find themselves in a dogfight in the Western Conference falling into a play-in position by losing seven of eight games. The Clips look to close out a five-game homestand on a positive note when they host the Philadelphia 76ers in the second game of TNT’s Tuesday night doubleheader. The Sixers opened a season-long five game road trip beating Utah on Saturday climbing a season-best 10 games over .500 and leveling their road record at 9-9 SU while going 8-10 ATS.
The matchup between the 76ers and Clippers takes place on Tuesday, January 17, 2023 and will air live on TNT with tip off at 10 p.m. ET from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. BookMaker.eu will have betting options for every game on the NBA schedule.
76ers vs Clippers Odds
Philadelphia 76ers (Check Back Later)
Los Angeles Clippers (Check Back Later)
Total (Check Back Later)
Season to Date
The Sixers have overcome a slow start as well as injuries to put a strong run together. A three-game losing streak that carried them into early December left them at 12-12. All three setbacks came on the road. They followed that with an eight-game winning streak and their win over the Jazz was their 14th in 18 games where they went 11-7 ATS. It was also their third straight road victory with payouts in two of them. Overall the Sixers are tied for the fourth-best cover rate in the NBA with payouts in 56.1 percent of their games.
A recent cold spell by the Clippers shows just how volatile the West is. The last two conference champs are toiling around .500 and LA dropped into a play-in spot by losing seven of eight games that included six in a row themselves back at .500 at 22-22 SU. The six-game skid is the longest in the Kawhi Leonard/Paul George era. Leonard played a major role in making sure the losing streak didn’t grow scoring 33 points in a 113-101 payout win over the Mavs. For the time being Kawhi will be the only one of the two playing since George remains out with a hamstring injury. The win over Dallas was the only cover for the Clips who are 1-6 ATS.
Philadelphia 76ers
We haven’t gotten a good read on the Sixers since they’ve only had the trio of Joel Embiid, James Harden and Tyrese Maxey on the floor together in 10 of their first 42 games. And there was a scare recently when Embiid sat out a few games with a foot injury. No need to worry, though, he returned with a masterful performance in a big win over Detroit scoring 36 points on 12 of 20 shooting with 11 rebounds. Embiid is currently the league’s second leading scorer averaging 33.4 points and the trio combines for more than 67 percent of the team’s offense with each averaging more than 20 points.
Offense hasn’t been an issue, especially with those three on the floor. Over the last three games with those guys on the floor the Sixers average 126 points and they’ve cashed the OVER in seven straight games and nine of the last 10. Harden and Embiid did most of the heavy lifting in Philly’s 119-114 cover win over the Clips last month. Embiid scored 44 points with Harden dropping 20 and 21 dimes. It was the second straight win and cover for the Sixers in the series.
Los Angeles Clippers
LA knows all about not having your best players in the lineup. Leonard missed most of the first month as he continued his recovery from knee surgery and he still takes games off now and then for ‘maintenance.’ Now George is on the shelf dealing with a hamstring injury. The hope is that both are healthy once the postseason starts, assuming the Clippers make it that far. They are going through a tough stretch right now and will be without George and key reserve Luke Kennard for the foreseeable future.
George leads the team with 23.7 points per game and Kennard adds 8.7 off the bench while shooting better than 46 percent from three-point territory. That’s a good chunk of offense missing from a team that’s struggled to score consistently. The Clips rank near the bottom averaging 109.1 points. They cashed the UNDER in a third straight game losing to Denver 115-103 on Friday and they have the highest UNDER percentage in the NBA at 61.4.
76ers vs Clippers Prediction
I think the Clippers will be fine, but right now they are dealing with ailments to key players and finding it hard to consistently score. Meanwhile the Sixers have their three biggest threats playing and they can come at opponents from anywhere on the floor. LA will have to push the tempo to keep up giving value to the OVER, though the Sixers have more firepower.
Our Prediction: Philadelphia 76ers and OVER
