Knowing that rest is paramount for the playoff games to come, the Golden State Warriors will look to end their first-round series with the Los Angeles Clippers tonight in Game 5 at Oracle Arena. The last time these two teams took the court in Oakland, the Clippers stunned the Warriors by overcoming a 31-point deficit to get their only win of the series. Golden State opened as a massive 15-point favorite with a total of 233.5.
Clippers vs Warriors Game Center
STANDOUT STATS
- The Warriors looked like the Warriors in the first four games of this series, averaging 124.3 points per game with a +12 point differential. They’re tied for first in both field-goal and three-point percentage but the part that can get them into trouble is their turnovers, as they lead the playoffs with 17 per game. Some of that can be attributed to getting such large leads in games that they start to mess around – that allowed the Clippers to climb back into Games 2 and 4.
- The Clippers may need to reconfigure their lineup for Game 5 as they may need to get more time on the court for Lou Williams. He has been their leading scorer in the playoffs in a sixth-man role but he was limited to 12 points in 30 minutes in Game 4. The Clippers’ two leading scorers are Williams and Montrezl Harrell (19 points per game) but neither averages more than 30 minutes per game and it may be the reason why the Clippers have faced a double-digit deficit in each first quarter of the series.
- Rebounding has been a key factor in this series and the Warriors are scooping up any loose balls. The Warriors hold the +10.3 rebounding advantage while limiting the Clippers to only 8.8 offensive boards per game. The Clippers are also getting a lot of their shots blocked (8.3), which is second-worst among all playoff teams.
- At -15, this is the largest spread favoring the Warriors at home since the 2017 playoffs. Those two games were against Utah and Portland and while they won both games, they failed to cover the spread. In their last 10 games when home favorites of 15 points or more, the Warriors are 9-1 SU but only 5-5 ATS.
- Totals bettors could have a tough time finding an edge in this series as the OVER and UNDER have hit once at each arena in this series. The Warriors usually hold up their end of the bargain by averaging 124 points per game but it’s the Clippers who could make or break this bet. They’re averaging 112.3 points per game in this series but have been held to 105 points or less in three of the four games. These teams have faced each other eight times dating back to the start of the regular season with the O/U record at 4-4.
My Best Bet for Clippers vs Warriors
Warriors -5 after First Quarter
I think this series is a wrap but oddsmakers have jacked up the line so high that taking any team in the NBA (even the Warriors) as a 15-point favorite is a sucker bet. That’s why I think taking the Warriors to lead by five or more after the Sportsbook quarter is a better play because of how they match up with the Clippers.
The Warriors have their four best players in front of their home fans for usually the majority of the first quarter while the Clippers leave their two leading scorers on the bench until there’s only a couple of minutes left. The Warriors have led after the first quarter by nine, eight, 17 and 10 points and now return to Oracle Arena looking to wrap up the series.
