Clippers Will Crush Suns In LA Sunday
The only NBA Sunday game breaking through the NFL bubble is a rematch of the 2021 Western Conference Finals with the Los Angeles Clippers (2-0) hosting the Phoenix Suns (1-1) at the Crypto.com Arena.
Phoenix lost outright at the Portland Trail Blazers 113-111 in overtime Friday as 5-point road underdogs.
LA beat the Sacramento Kings last night (Saturday) 111-109 and failed to cover as 2.5-point closing road favorites thanks to an epic "bad beat".
The Clippers are the right side here because they are at full strength and should be decisive home favorites in any game Kawhi Leonard and Paul George suit up for.
Betting Details (DraftKings)
There's no basketball-based logic behind this being a coin-flip game. The Clippers should be at least 2.5-point favorites over the Suns in this spot.
The market is overcompensating for LA's ATS loss Saturday vs. the Kings and the Clippers being on the second of a back-to-back. LA was up double-digits inside the last two minutes of relegation before playing with its food and allowing Sactown in the "backdoor".
Also, it's assumed LA struggles in these spots because of the injury histories of Kawhi and PG. Yet the Clippers have the 3rd-best cover rate in the NBA on no rest since the beginning of last season: 17-9-1 ATS (65.4%).
Los Angeles Clippers forwards Paul George and Kawhi Leonard get back on defense in the 3rd quarter. (Harry How/Getty Images)
The Clippers gave Kawhi and PG John Wall the night off for the first of this back-to-back on purpose. Kawhi and Wall could've had more time to rest if they took this game off but LA wants to make a statement vs. Phoenix.
Lastly, the Suns don't have enough wing defenders for Kawhi and PG. Phoenix wing Mikal Bridges is a fine player and first-team All-Defense last season. But, offense always beats defense in basketball and Kawhi is going to give Bridges the business Sunday.
BET: Clippers (-105) ML at DraftKings Sportsbook, up to -130
Los Angeles Clippers vs. Phoenix Suns betting odds from DraftKings Sportsbook as of Sunday, October 23 at 12:15 p.m. ET