The Washington Wizards will travel to the Staples Center to take on the Los Angeles Clippers. Action begins at 10:30 pm ET on Friday, Mar. 20 and can be seen on CSN-DC and FSN-PT.
The Clippers played well in their last game, topping the Kings 116-105 on Wednesday. Chris Paul played a pivotal role, recording his 33rd double-double of the season with 30 points and 11 assists. The Wizards, meanwhile, are coming off an 88-84 win against the Jazz on Wednesday. John Wall led the team in scoring by accounting for 24 points on 9-for-13 shooting.
J.J. Redick has taken his game to another level over the last five games for the Clippers. During that stretch, he has averaged 21.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.0 steal, and 3.0 three-pointers. Wall has upped his play for the Wizards. In the same five-game span, he is averaging 22.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.2 blocks, and 1.2 three-pointers.
Second-chance opportunities could be few and far between for the Clippers in this one. They rank 27th in the league in offensive rebounding (offensive rebound percentage of just 22.5%), while Washington is third-best in the NBA on the defensive glass (defensive rebound percentage of 77.5%).
This is the second game of the season between these two teams, with the Wizards winning the first matchup 104-96. In the victory, Bradley Beal led all scorers with 29 points.
The odds for Los Angeles and Washington are even, while the Over/Under (O/U) is unavailable as of now. The Clippers have gone 44-25 Straight Up (SU) and 30-39 Against The Spread (ATS). While they boast a record of 9-5 against Eastern Conference opponents at home, they have struggled to beat the spread in those same games, going 5-9. Los Angeles is the most disciplined team in the league with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.1.
Over on the other bench, the Wizards have 40-28 SU and 28-39-1 ATS records. Against the Western Conference, Washington is 15-10 SU and 11-13-1 ATS.
In their previous meeting this season, Washington beat Los Angeles, but the win was not enough to overtake Los Angeles in the recent head-to-head series. Its record is now 2-8 SU over the last 10 meetings. The teams are even ATS, with a 5-5 record. Los Angeles held the advantage in field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers three times in the last 10 matchups. On the other side of the court, Washington never accomplished this feat in that span.
Predictions: SU Winner – LAC, ATS Winner – LAC
Notes
Washington’s offense and Los Angeles’ defense are well matched, ranking 19th in points per game and points allowed per game respectively. Washington puts up an average of 98.7 points per game, while Los Angeles gives up 100.5 points per game.
Washington ranks 24th in points per away game with 94.8 points, while Los Angeles ranks 11th in points allowed at home with 97.7.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Washington Wizards are a superb 34-8. In games where they score fewer than 100 points, the Los Angeles Clippers have a subpar record of 7-14.
The Washington Wizards have an underachieving 6-20 record in games where they have allowed at least 100 points. The Los Angeles Clippers are 37-11 when they hit the century mark.
The Clippers have a defensive rating of 103.2 (ranked 17th), while the Wizards rank 16th for their offensive rating of 101.9.
The Los Angeles Clippers have one of the best field goal percentages this season, ranking second in the league with a FG% of 47.0%. When their opponents record a similar or higher FG%, the Washington Wizards have a poor 4-11 record.
The Washington Wizards rank higher for their field goal percentage (third) than their effective field goal percentage (11th), while the Los Angeles Clippers rank the same for both metrics (second).
Los Angeles ranks near the top of the league in assists at fourth (24.4 assists per game). Washington is ranked sixth, with 24.0 assists per game.
Los Angeles makes an average of 4.9 blocks per game (ranked ninth), while Washington makes 4.6 blocks per game (ranked 17th).
Los Angeles is ranked 28th when it comes to offensive rebounding. Washington ranks seventh in defensive rebounds.
The Washington Wizards average 7.3 steals per game. When allowing 7 or more steals, the Los Angeles Clippers are an even 16-16 this season.
