Oklahoma City Thunder vs Los Angeles Clippers Prediction, 1/16/2024 Preview and Pick
Game: Oklahoma City Thunder vs Los Angeles Clippers
Date: Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Location: Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA
TV: Bally Sports SoCal
Odds/Point Spread: Oklahoma City (+5)
The Oklahoma City Thunder (27-11) are hitting the road to Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday where they will attempt to beat the Los Angeles Clippers (25-14). Los Angeles is 5-point favorites from Vegas oddsmakers. The total has been set at 236.
The Thunder faced the Magic and took home the win by a score of 112-100 in their last game. Regarding personal fouls, the Thunder finished with 19 while the Magic finished the game with 22 personal fouls. They also converted 7 of their 35 attempts from 3-point range. Orlando shot 62.5% from the charity stripe by converting 15 of their 24 shots. In addition, Orlando totaled 50 rebounds (11 offensive, 39 defensive) and had 4 blocks. Orlando recorded 21 assists and had 5 steals for this game. In terms of defending, Oklahoma City allowed their opponent to shoot 46.4% from the field on 39 out of 84 shooting. They also dished out 23 assists for the contest as well as forcing 15 turnovers and earning 9 steals. In relation to grabbing rebounds, they compiled 46 with 12 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Thunder converted 18 of their 21 shots for a percentage of 85.7%. Oklahoma City wrapped up the contest with a 45.7% FG percentage (43 of 94) and buried 8 of their 36 shots from distance.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is one guy who had an impact in this contest. Gilgeous-Alexander finished 65.0% from the floor and totaled 7 dimes. He was on the court for 36 mins and also pulled down 6 rebounds. He accumulated 37 points on 13 out of 20 shooting.
Oklahoma City will play this contest with a win-loss record of 27-11 for the year. They currently have an average of 122.5 points per contest (3rd in the league) while connecting on 50.7% from the floor. The Thunder are connecting on 39.2% on three-point attempts (498 of 1,269) and 83.8% from the charity stripe. As a team, Oklahoma City is pulling in 41.3 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 1,041 assists this season, which ranks 12th in the NBA in terms of passing. They turn the ball over 12.6 times per contest and as a unit they commit 20.1 fouls on a nightly basis.
When they are on defense, the Thunder are forcing their opponents into 15.9 turnovers per game and they draw 19.7 fouls. They are ranked 13th in basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 1,016 surrendered so far this season. The Thunder are giving up a shooting percentage of 44.3% (1,517 of 3,424) and they relinquish 45.4 rebounds per contest as a team. They are surrendering 35.4% from beyond the arc while they are 13th in basketball in points per game allowed (113.4).
When they last stepped on the court, the Clippers took a loss by a score of 109-105 when they played the Timberwolves. When talking about cleaning up the glass, Los Angeles allowed Minnesota to collect 41 in all (6 on the offensive glass). They finished 50.0% from downtown by going 13 out of 26 and ended up shooting 20 of 31 at the free throw line (64.5%). The Clippers allowed the Timberwolves to convert 38 out of their 67 attempts from the field which gave them a percentage of 56.7% in this game. When the final whistle blew, the Clippers shot 36 out of 83 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 43.4%. Concerning 3-point shots, Los Angeles buried 17 of their 39 tries (43.6%). They were able to make 16 of the free throws for a rate of 88.9%. The Timberwolves earned 23 fouls in this contest which got the Clippers to the free throw line for a total of 18 shots. They coughed up the ball 11 times, while earning 9 steals for this contest. The Clippers were able to pull down 27 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards totaling 34 in this matchup.
Kawhi Leonard was important for the Clippers in this contest. He made 9 out of 19 for the game giving him a field goal percentage of 47.4%, and accounted for 9 rebounds. Leonard tallied 26 points in his 37 mins on the court and had 4 assists in this matchup.
Los Angeles has a win-loss mark of 25-14 on the season. The Clippers commit 19.9 personal fouls per game and they go 81.2% from the free throw line. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 25.7 times per contest (21st in the NBA) and they are turning it over 13.3 times per game. Los Angeles has totaled 4,577 pts for the campaign (117.4 per game) and they collect 43.2 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Clippers are connecting on 49.2% from the field, which is 5th in the NBA.
The Clippers on the defensive end are ranked 11th in the league in PPG allowed with 111.9. They are forcing 13.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 46.2% from the field (8th in the league). The Los Angeles defense allows 36.0% on shots from beyond the arc (492 of 1,368) and their opponents are converting on 78.1% of their foul shots. They give up 25.8 dimes and 41.5 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks them 11th and 4th in the league.
Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?
Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Oklahoma City (+5)
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