Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Los Angeles Clippers Picks, Predictions, Odds

Michael Crosson Sports Betting Expert

3 minute read

Regular season NBA action resumes on Thursday night with a compelling Western Conference rematch between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Clippers. Coverage begins from Crypto.com Arena in L. A. at 10:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV.

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER vs. LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS BETTING PREDICTION

For a team that was originally constructed with intentions of contending for championships, the Clippers have had an incredibly disappointing run the last few years, and this season has been no different, currently stationed 5th in the Western Conference standings with a record of 38-35, which falls much closer to the status of the 12-placed Jazz (35-36) as opposed to the 1st-placed Nuggets (48-24).

The Clippers added Russell Westrbook into the mix at the trade deadline, though, and it looks like they are finally beginning to hit their stride, entering Thursday following wins in five of their last seven games, while ranking 4th in offensive rating and 7th in defensive rating during that span (120 ORtg, 112.9 DRtg).

However, I’m still not quite ready to buy into the current iteration of this Clippers’ squad, especially after seeing how the previous meeting between these two teams concluded.

On Tuesday night, the Clippers hosted the Thunder, and the contest went all the way down to the wire, as ultimately, L. A. had a chance to win the game at the buzzer, but Kawhi Leonard failed to get a shot off with time winding down, and Oklahoma City managed to escape with a thrilling 101-100  road victory.

At this point, though, a competitive loss to Oklahoma City certainly isn’t the end of the world, and one could argue that the Clippers actually overachieved in Tuesday’s matchup based on the Thunder’s recent string of results.

The Thunder are 8-2 in their last ten games, while ranking 4th in the league in net rating since flipping the calendar to March (+4.4 NetRtg), which is quite an accomplishment, considering they rank just 22nd in offensive rating during that timeframe, and somehow, managed to only drop two of those contests.

In Tuesday’s meeting between these teams, the Thunder went to halftime with a five-point lead, and the Clippers slowly clawed their way back into the contest, and almost won it, despite coming out on the losing end in three-of-four quarters, however, this time around, there’s a good chance that we’ll see OKC control the game from start to finish.

Score Prediction: Thunder 113, Clippers 106
Best Bet: Thunder +2 (-110)

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER vs. LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS BETTING ODDS

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER vs. LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS BETTING RESOURCES

Date: Thursday, March 23, 2023
Venue: Crypto.com Arena
Location: Los Angeles, California
TV-Time: NBA TV, 10:30 p.m. ET
Matchup
Expert Picks

NBA Finals Betting Odds

OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER vs. LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS BETTING STATS

Oklahoma City Thunder
SU: 36-36
ATS: 44-27-1
O/U: 42-29-1
PPG: 117.6
OPPG: 116.2

Los Angeles Clippers
SU: 38-35
ATS: 36-37
O/U: 32-41
PPG: 112.7
OPPG: 112.4

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

Updated on 04/18/2024

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OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER vs. LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS BETTING TRENDS

• The Thunder are 5-1 ATS in their last six games.
• The total has gone OVER in eight of Oklahoma City's last 12 games.
• The Thunder are 5-1 SU in their last six games.
• The Clippers are 4-2 ATS in their last six games.
• The total has gone UNDER in five of the Clippers' last six games.
• The Clippers are 5-2 SU in their last seven games.
• The total has gone UNDER in 10 of the Clippers' last 15 games against Oklahoma City.
• The total has gone UNDER in four of the Clippers' last five home games.
• The Thunder are 7-1 ATS in their last eight games against the Clippers.
• The Thunder are 4-1 SU in their last five games 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