Posted on
12/31/2007 5:14:25 PM
NBA Basketball Betting – Minnesota at LA Clippers
By Charles Jay
BetUS NBA basketball betting odds: L.A. CLIPPERS -6, Total: 188.5
The Los Angeles Clippers (9-19 SU, 12-16 ATS), who are having a lot of trouble breaking 90 points, will try to do so on Monday night when they take on the struggling Minnesota Timberwolves (4-25 SU, 13-16 ATS) in what is far from a New Year's Eve extravaganza but is nonetheless an NBA game that is slated for 9:30 PM ET tipoff.
In the BetUS NBA betting odds, the Clippers are a 6.5-point favorite, with the total listed at 188.5 points.
In the HEAD-to-HEAD NBA basketball betting trends:
* MINN has won 13 of the last 18 meetings SU
* MINN has covered four of the last six meetings as the road team
* Five of the last six meetings have gone UNDER the total
Minnesota is averaging 93.9 points per game on 43.7% shooting. The Wolves have a point differential of minus-8.8 ppg. They have averaged 12.5 offensive rebounds and shoot only 72% from the free throw line. Also:
* MINN has covered two of its last six games
* MINN has won one of its last 11 games SU
* MINN has played nine of its last 13 games UNDER the total
* MINN has played five of its last six road games UNDER the total
The Clippers have shot 41.7% as a team, which is 29th in the 30-team NBA. Overall, they are averaging a shade less than 93 points per contest. At home they are dead last in the circuit with 90.8 ppg. Power forward Elton Brand and guard Shaun Livingston - two difference-making players - have been out all season. Also:
* LA has covered six of its last nine games
* LA has covered eight of its last 24 games
* LA has lost six consecutive games SU
* LA has played four of its last five games UNDER the total
* LA has lost its last seven home games SU
* LA is 2-9 ATS in its last 11 home games
These two can compare notes on their respective losing streaks - Minnesota has lost four in a row and possess the worst record in the NBA, while the Clippers have dropped six in a row overall and seven straight at the Staples Center, where they have found no comfort. With stars like Brand and Livingston hurting, and others like Sam Cassell missing significant playing time, that has left Corey Maggette in a "leadership" position, and that is where no team wants to be. Los Angeles has averaged just over 86 points a game in their last five losses, shooting a combined 36% in the last two (with FOUR total 3-point shots made). Meanwhile, Minnesota was held to 90 points last time out by a Seattle team that is one of the league's worst on defense. This will be a "defensive" struggle, to be sure. Oh, and we hear the field may be muddy.
We're going "under" the 188.5 points, as posted in the BetUS NBA basketball betting odds.
JAY'S PLAY: UNDER 188.5
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(Charles Jay of TotalActionExtra.com is a freelance writer and handicapper who not only can make his shots from the top of the key, but also contributes with gusto to the BetUS Locker Room)