Los Angeles Clippers vs. Denver Nuggets Picks, Predictions, Odds

Michael Crosson Sports Betting Expert

4 minute read

Regular season NBA action resumes on Sunday night with a star-studded Western Conference clash between the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets. Coverage begins from Ball Arena in Denver at 10:00 p.m. ET on ESPN.

LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS vs. DENVER NUGGETS BETTING PREDICTION

Thanks to the downfall of several other supposed super teams, and some unfortunate injury situations, the Clippers have continued to skate by with their profound mediocrity since combining the forces of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, considering they’ve won just three playoff series in the last four years, and the betting majority still seems to have a modest level of faith in the construction of L. A.’s roster.

The championship window is closing for the current iteration of this Clippers’ team, though, and clearly, their front office is feeling some pressure. So, as a last-ditch effort, they decided to sign Russell Westbrook to a one-year deal last week, and now, as silly as it may sound, all hope might be lost for this squad.

People always say, “It never hurts to add talent to the roster,” which is true, but in a much broader sense than commonly believed. Westbrook is an incredibly gifted basketball player, without a question, one of the most physically dominant point guards of an entire generation, and not to mention, a two-time scoring champ, and the 2016-17 MVP winner. 

Due to his long track record of success, though, for lack of a better term, Russ has some bad habits. Westbrook is putting up roughly 14 field goal attempts per game at a 42% clip on the season, which is frustrating stuff, to say the least. To put it into perspective, Westbrook currently ranks 14th on the Clippers’ roster in shooting percentage, yet he also ranks 3rd in attempts per game.

Regardless of whether he’s hot, cold, or indifferent… Russ is going to jack up an inefficient 14+ shots per game, like it or not. So, getting back to the notion of “it never hurts to add talent to the roster,” I would argue that it depends on the situation, and in this case, the jury is still out in Los Angeles.

While on the other hand, the Nuggets have very quietly built a five-game lead over the entire Western Conference, currently boasting a record of 42-19 on the season, with the next-closest teams standing in line being the Grizzlies at 36-23, and the Kings at 34-25.

There’s nothing subtle about Denver’s success, though. The Nuggets rank 3rd in the league in net rating, and they’re spearheaded by a bonafide MVP frontrunner in Nikola Jokic. So, why do they continue to fly under the radar, to an extent?

Truth be told, the stench of Denver’s recent postseason performances appears to linger in the minds of bettors, or in other words, people feel like they’ve shown their true colors in crunch time already. 

In my opinion, though, the Nuggets receive an unfair amount of criticism for their shortcomings in the playoffs, and quite frankly, taking into consideration their wretched injury circumstances over the last few seasons, they’ve far exceeded any recalibrated expectations. 

For the first time in years, Denver’s trio of Jokic, Jamal Murray, and Michael Porter Jr. are all healthy and performing at peak level, which continues to breed impressive results. The Nuggets are 8-2 in their last ten games, with their only losses during that timeframe coming on the road in Minnesota and Orlando. 

Denver may be hindered by a minor rest-disadvantage playing on the second half of a back-to-back in this one. However, the Nuggets are the best team in the NBA on their home floor, boasting records of 27-4 SU and 21-10 ATS at Ball Arena on the season, and there’s a good chance that we’ll see that trend continue in Sunday’s nightcap against a Clippers’ squad that’s 2-4 ATS in their last six contests.

Score Prediction: Nuggets 117, Clippers 108
Best Bet: Nuggets -3 (-110)

Take Denver!

BET NOW!

LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS vs. DENVER NUGGETS BETTING ODDS

LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS vs. DENVER NUGGETS BETTING RESOURCES

Date: Sunday, February 26, 2023
Venue: Ball Arena
Location: Denver, Colorado
TV-Time: ESPN, 10:00 p.m. ET
Matchup
Expert Picks

NBA Finals Betting Odds

LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS vs. DENVER NUGGETS BETTING STATS

Los Angeles Clippers
SU: 33-29
ATS: 31-31
O/U: 28-34
PPG: 112.5
OPPG: 112.2

Denver Nuggets
SU: 42-18
ATS: 34-26
O/U: 30-30
PPG: 117
OPPG: 112.7

Straight Up (SU), Against the Spread (ATS), Over-Under (O/U)
Points Per Game (PPG), Opponents Points Per Game (OPPG)

Updated on 04/24/2024

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LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS vs. DENVER NUGGETS BETTING TRENDS

• The Clippers are 2-4 ATS in their last six games.
• The Nuggets are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games.
• The total has gone OVER in five of the Clippers' last seven games.
• The Clippers are 10-5 SU in their last 15 games.
• The total has gone UNDER in four of the Nuggets' last six games.
• The Nuggets are 4-1 ATS in their last five games.
• The Nuggets are 4-0 ATS in their last four matchups against the Clippers.

Michael Crosson

Michael Crosson began his time at VegasInsider as a freelance NBA writer back in 2019 while he continued to study Psychology and Biology at James Madison University. Following his graduation in 2021, Michael joined the team full-time, and he's been with VI ever since. Michael still writes NBA, NFL, and MLB for VI, as well as gambling industry news. He's also become a crucial part of our editorial production team. More from Michael Crosson