Game Time: 10:30 PM ET, Wednesday, March 9th, 2022 

Venue:  Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California

Where to Watch: NBA League Pass

DraftKings:  Spread:  Clippers -4.5; O/U 218.5

Fanduel:  Spread:  Clippers -4.5; O/U 218.5

BetMGM:  Spread: Clippers -4.5; O/U 218.5

Wizards: 29-34, 11th place Eastern Conference

Clippers: 34-32, 8th place Western Conference

A non-conference NBA matchup between two fringe teams.  As the season gets tight with only a month left to play.. The scrambling starts.  Players start regretting losing to Houston on that off-night two months ago.  Franchises start wishing they had picked that kid from LSU, or that they had not signed that particular guy who sits out more than he plays.  The season is ending and the fringe teams need a strong showing to remain relevant in the playoff discussion.  It’s a master of regular business at this time of year… it also brings out the best in the players that do take the floor.  They have one shot at a taste of postseason… they will take it.

The Washington Wizards were the feel-good team at the start of the year when they surprised the league by being good.  They rose as high as 4th place in the conference.  Then reality set in… They have plummeted to 11th place… one spot away from the play-in tournament.  In the beginning the Wizards were high on the Russell Westbrook trade to Los Angeles… They didn’t want Russ really… he was just a means for getting out of John Wall’s contract.  Now they have SG Kentavious Caldwell- Pope, SF Kyle Kuzma, PF Montrezl Harrell (a former 6th man of the year) and a pick?... WHAT???  They didn’t even want Russ to begin with.  So the high times and early winning started!  Problem is Kyle Kuzma is still just Kyle Kuzma.  Kentavious Caldwell-Pope needs constant reassurance and coddling to play well… and Montrezl Harrell has the sort of personality that has burnt bridges with two winning franchises.  The pick has yet to be made.  So, when reality hit, the Wizards went back to losing.  The Wizards have an All-NBA player of their own in SG Bradley Beal and they LOVE PF Rui Hachimura even though no one else does.  At the trade deadline, in order to stop the losing, they traded for C Kristaps Porzingis.  Kristaps is a great player…but hasn’t made a dent in the losing.  A part of the problem is that twice this year SG Bradley Beal went down with injury… and he is out now. The Wizards are a worse swamp than Washington DC itself.  They have good players… they don’t win.

The Washington Wizards have won 5 of their last ten games.  Not enough to start heading up in the standings.  They went 5-4-1 ATS during that stretch…not enough to fill your bankroll.  They are, however, 7 Overs and 3 Unders during that stretch… so either scoring or a lack of defense can propel this team to hitting a better than average mark with Overs.

The Los Angeles Clippers are missing 60% of their starting five as constructed right now… and they don’t care.  The Clippers (you know the history) signed Kawhi Leonard and traded for Paull George under the premise that they would win a string of championships.  With both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard out with injury and sketchy timetables for return… and add newly acquired SF Norman Powell to that list.  The Clippers have the most amount of salary cap ever to sit on the bench in street clothes… the number is over 100 million.  The rest of the team DOES NOT CARE.  They are made of scrappers and they DO WANT TO WIN.  PG Reggie jackson didn’t get into the game to wait for a superstar to help him win.  Reggie is a superstar.. He proves it on both ends every night.  Backup SG Luke Kennard has been overlooked enough… so he reinvented himself as Mr 4th Quarter Flame Thrower.  Luke hits shots from beyond the arc in bunches before the final buzzer. Backup C Isaiah Hartenstein wants starting Center Ivica Zubac’s job… the result is a team with two productive Centers.  All over the roster are tough guys who want to win now and don’t care how many private jets Kahwi takes to avoid his own team.  PF Marcus Morris Sr, SG Terrance Mann, and SF Nicolas Batum… each with their own story of being overlooked in some way or forgotten about… they play to win… to hell with the injured superstars.

The Los Angeles Clippers have won 7 of their last ten games.  They went 7-3 ATS.  They recently beat the Los Angeles Lakers to complete a 4-0 season sweep.  They beat the Phoenix Suns, the Dallas mavericks, and the Golden State Warriors… all euphoric feelings for back-ups who are supposedly waiting for other guys to return.  During the stretch their defense has held down the fort going 4 Over and 6 Under.

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Washington is 29-34 on the season, but 25-36-2 ATS.  They have notched 33 Overs, 29 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 12-17 in road games.

The Clippers are 34-32 on the season, but 33-33 ATS.  They have logged 31 Overs, 34 Unders and 1 Push.  They are 19-14 in home games.

The Wizards are 21st in scoring with 108.1 ppg, 25th in rebounds with 43.5 per game, and 10th in AST/To ratio with 1.8.  On defense they rank 17th while allowing 110.7 ppg from opponents.

The Clippers are 25th in scoring with 107.0 ppg, 18th in rebounds with 44.3 per game, and 21st in AST/TO ratio with 1.7. On defense they rank 10th while allowing 107.5 ppg from opponents.

Our prediction for Wednesday, March 9th is…. Clippers 118 - Wizards 115

This will be a close game.  It turns out that multiple Wizards have played in Los Angeles and still own houses there… They also really want to show out during the game to the crowd they used to know. Plus Kristaps is a lot of things… but being unable to score on Isaiah Hartenstein is not one of them.  So the Clippers will win but you have to pay close attention to the spread because it should be so close that you have to bet on the Wizards.

The Clippers are 19-7 ATS versus Southeast division opponents the last 3 seasons.
The Wizards are 5-15 ATS versus non conference opponents this season.
The Clippers are 4-1 ATS versus Washington over the last 3 seasons.

Wizards: SG Bradley Beal (wrist) Out ** PF Vernon Carey Jr (hip) Quest

Clippers:  SF Norman Powell (knee) Out ** SG Kawhi Leonard (knee) Out ** SF Paul George (elbow) Out

Wizards: SF Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, PF Kyle Kuzma, C Kristaps Porzingis, PG Raul Neto, SG Corey Kispert

Clippers: PF Marcus Morris Sr, Sf Nicholas Batum, C Ivica Zubac, PG Reggie Jackson, SG Terrance Mann 

Wizards

Points: Kristaps Porzingis 25

Assists: Bradley Beal 6.6

Rebounds: Kyle kuzma 8.7

Steals: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 1.1

Blocks: Kristaps Porzingis 2.0

Clippers

Points: Paul George 24.7

Assists: Paul George 5.5

Rebounds: Ivica Zubac 8.2

Steals: Paul George 2.0

Blocks: Robert Covington 1.3

Wizards: Wes Unseld Jr

Clippers: Tye Lue