Clippers Will Wax Lakers Wednesday Like They Always Do
I tried to retire from betting the NBA until the playoffs. This has been the crappiest NBA season ever. But, this Los Angeles Lakers (41-38) vs. Los Angeles Clippers (41-38) game is bringing me back since the Clippers own the Lakers.
As a LA county (Long Beach) resident, it's kind of crazy to say that but it's true. Since 2012, LAC is 34-7 straight up (SU) and 28-13 against the spread (ATS) vs. LAL. The Clippers have +11.0 SU and +4.7 ATS margins in those games.
Lakers' LeBron James by Clippers' Kawhi Leonard at the then-STAPLES Center in Los Angeles. (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
This season, the Clippers are 3-0 SU (+12.3 SU margin) and ATS (+8.2 ATS margin). The Clippers have beaten the Lakers in 10 consecutive meetings. LA is still and will always be "Lakers' town" but only because of the history.
I'm going to say this again ... but DO NOT BET THIS GAME UNTIL THE FINAL STARTING 5s ARE RELEASED. The only reason I'm giving this play out now is to collect the page views and I'm a sicko.
Lakers vs. Clippers Odds (DraftKings Sportsbook)
Betting odds for the Lakers vs. the Clippers from DraftKings Sportsbook as of 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday, April 5.
The Clippers are going to try Wednesday, right? It's a rhetorical question since I'm the one giving out the pick but it's a valid question. Generation Z thinks the Clippers are lazy and entitled.
I mean they have the same record as the Lakers and LAC is currently the 6th and final non-play-in seed for the playoffs. So it's a quasi-Must-Win. Of course, the Clippers own the tiebreaker vs. the Lakers.
For what's worth, the Clippers have the best player on the floor. Per CleaningTheGlass.com, LAC scores 11.6 more points per 100 possessions in non-garbage time when Kawhi Leonard is on the floor.
LeBron James has a +9.4 non-garbage time on/off net rating and Anthony Davis has a +8.0 adjusted on/off net rating. And this is just a hunch but I think Kawhi hates LeBron.
LeBron James defends Kawhi Leonard in a Clippers-Lakers showdown at the Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles earlier this season. (Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images)
Maybe that's a tad strong however Kawhi's teams are 11-5 SU in the regular season vs. LeBron's squads and 7-5 SU in the postseason. Leonard won the 2014 NBA Finals MVP when his Spurs beat LeBron's Heat 4-1.
This is a Pros vs. Joe's game in the betting market. The public is overreacting to the Lakers' recent performance and the sharps are betting the Clippers-Lakers head-to-head history.
More money at DraftKings is on LAC whereas roughly two-thirds of the bets placed are on LAL, per VSIN. The oddsmakers are reacting to the cash column though. The Clippers opened as -3 favorites. Let's follow the money and ...