NBA Basketball: Oklahoma City Thunder VS Los Angeles Clippers Pick and Predictions 03/21/2023

Game: 10:40 PM ET, Tuesday, March 21st, 2023

Venue: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California

TV:  NBA League Pass

Thunder: 35-36, 9th place Western Conference

Clippers: 38-34, 5th place Western Conference

BetMGM:  Point Spread: Clippers -7.5, O/U 237.5

PointsBet: Point Spread: Clippers -7, O/U 237.5

Fanduel: Point Spread:  Clippers -7, O/U 237.5

Thunder: PG Sahi Gilgeous Alexander, SG Josh Giddey, SF Luguentz Dort, PF Jalen Williams, C Jaylin Williams

Clippers: PG Russell Westbrook, SG Paul George, SF Kawhi Leonard, PF Marcus Morris SR, C Ivica Zubac

An NBA battle of young and exciting VS the rerun of a 3-year old daydream.  The Western Conference will seemingly never be settled.. There is a bunch up of teams between the 4th and 12th spots in the standings that makes it realistic that over the last 10 games of the season we will not know exactly which teams will make the playoffs until the dust settles…. Teams like the Suns, Clippers, and Warriors are in good position but a small losing streak could get them easily jumped by the Mavericks, Timberwolves, Thunder, Jazz or… even the dark horse Lakers.  Plus we have the “play-in” tournament.  So there is a lot on the line whenever any of the two teams on this list play each other.  The Clippers are heavily favored because of the overall strength and experience of the Clippers roster vs the Thunder.  BUt the Clippers have the greatest weakness in this game… They will be putting either Russell Westbrook, or Boines Hyland or Terence Mann on defense against the best young superstar in the league, OKC's PG Shai Gilgeous Alexander (sorry Ja.. Shai has blown past you this season).  The great betting opportunity here is to keep a close eye on the recent trends and that 7 point point spread.

The OKC Thunder have won 7 of their last 10 games.  Going 7-3 ATS during that stretch.  They won their last game against the Phoenix Suns 124-120.  In the win they got 40 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists from PG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists from SG Josh Giddey, and 20 points from undersized SF Luguentz Dort.  The Thunder are not world beaters yet, but they do have a tough, young, athletic team… a team that can run you off the floor if you do not slow down Alexander and Giddey.

The Los Angeles Clippers have won 5 of their last 10 games.  Their constant .500 play has only helped them hang on to their current standing (5th place), but is not the type of thing that will help them earn home court in a playoff series if they don’t soon right the ship.  They won their last game against the Portland Trail Blazers 117-102. In the win they got 29 points from SG Paul George, 24 points from SF Kawhi Leonard, and 20 points from new bench player SG/SF Eric Gordon.  They got the win and the first real good game from PG Russell Westbrook since they acquired him at the trade deadline. Russell missed a triple double by 1 points as he finished with 9 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists… He would have had that triple double if the Clippers had enough faith in his defense to allow him to play late in games.

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Our prediction for Tuesday, March 21st is…. Clippers 118 - Thunder 117

Bet on the Thunder.  The Clippers are the better team but the Thunder play everyone tough. So tough that you should not endorse a 7 point point spread.  The Thunder will keep it close if not win outright… and you get a 7 point cushion for your money.

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The Thunder are 19-9 ATS as a road underdog this season.

The Thunder are 19-7 ATS after having won 2 of their last 3 games this season.

The Clippers are 9 OVER and 26 UNDER in home games this season.

Thunder: PG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.  Shai was a Clipper.  They had him in the fold and they put him in a trade for Paul George… Paul is a great player/multi-time NBA all-star… but just a few seasons later?... Shai is the better player.  The Clippers front office kicks themselves every time they remember that they traded Shai and sent out 6 draft picks and other players with him.  Had they skipped the PG-13 trade?... The Clippers would be a better team today… even with Kawhi’s injury woes.

Clippers: SG Paul George.  Paul is a great two-way player but will be stuck in a pick your poison death trap!  He will have to switch with Westbrook to cover SGV… but that will leave Westbrook on SG Josh Giddey who is capable at every [phase of the game and getting more confident with every game.  Giddey is the Thunder player that is likely to average a triple double in a season in the very near future… only he will accomplish it differently than Russell Westbrook did when he was with the Thunder.. He will do it naturally as the game presents itself, instead of forcing action to stuff the stat sheet.

Thunder: Mark “funky bunch” Daignault

Clippers: Tye “who am I?... I guess I have a lot to ponder” Lue