by Chuck Sommers
Monday, Dec 20, 2021
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
Where to watch: Bally Sports Southern California, Bally Sports Southwest-San Antonio
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Clippers -5
BetMGM: Clippers -4.5
Caesars: NL
Season record
Spurs: 11-18 (12th place, Western Conference)
LA Clippers: 16-14 (5th place, Western Conference)
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Spurs - Clippers preview and analysis
Recent form
Spurs: lost 121-114 at Kings on Sunday
Clippers: lost 104-103 at Thunder on Saturday
Just when you want to believe in the San Antonio Spurs, they go and pull something like Sunday night.
That alone is why I don't trust them in their Monday matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. Never mind that this will be one of the last times we say Staples Center before Christmas Day, but I digress.
The Spurs, two days after pulling off an upset 2-point win at the Utah Jazz, lost 121-114 on Sunday to the Sacramento Kings to halt that momentum. Dejounte Murray had 25 points, seven rebounds and nine assists to lead the Spurs shooting 49.5 percent as a team, but the Kings shot 50.5 percent from the floor and made two more 3-pointers in the win. Buddy Hield and Tyrese Haliburton combined for 56 points.
"Just started the game too casually," said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich. "I don't know if they took it for granted. I don't know if they're still excited about the Utah win. Who knows? But that was a disappointing loss."
Lonnie Walker IV led the bench scoring with 19 points in 25 minutes, while Bryn Forbes also pitched in with 18 points in 26 minutes. The problem was the rest of the supporting cast; Jakob Poeltl (2 of 10 shooting) finished with just four points and eight reboudns, and Derrick White had only five points on 2 of 8 shooting.
The Spurs have alternated wins and losses in their last seven games and are as high as 5.5-point underdogs heading into this matchup with the Clippers.
The Clippers are down key players like Paul George and Serge Ibaka and are coming off a 1-point walk-off loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer for the Clippers' second straight loss.
Luke Kennard led the way with 27 points, and Terance Mann had 18, but one can only wonder if a player named George or Leonard would have helped.
"I thought we did some good thing," Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. "We had a chance to win the game and [Gilgeous-Alexander] made a tough shot at the end to win."
Prediction
There's going to come a time where I will trust the Spurs to go on a run. This is not that time. The Clippers return home an annoyed mess and will need a better performance from their backcourt against a good, athletic San Antonio guard rotation. Plus, they'll have more energy. This shouldn't be an issue. Clippers by 10
Betting trends
The Spurs are 45-35 ATS on the road over the past three seasons.
The Clippers are 22-9 ATS after a loss by six points or less.
Projected starting lineup
Spurs:
PG: Dejounte Murray
SG: Derrick White
SF: Doug McDermott
PF: Keldon Johnson
C: Jakob Poeltl
Clippers:
PG: Reggie Jackson
SG: Luke Kennard
SF: Terance Mann
PF: Marcus Morris Sr.
C: Ivica Zubac
Spurs: Zach Collins (ankle, out)
Clippers: Paul George (elbow, out), Nicolas Batum (ankle, out), Serge Ibaka (COVID, out), Kawhi Leonard (knee, out)
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
