The Los Angeles Clippers will travel to Chesapeake Energy Arena to square off against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The game starts at 8:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Mar. 11 and will air on ESPN, FSN-PT and FSN-OK.
The Thunder were victorious over the Raptors 108-104 on Sunday. Oklahoma City rallied around Russell Westbrook, who recorded his seventh triple-double on the season. He dominated, registering 30 points, 17 assists, and 11 rebounds. The Clippers, meanwhile, are coming off an 89-76 win over the Timberwolves on Monday. DeAndre Jordan had a good game, posting 20 points and 17 rebounds to claim his 33rd double-double of the season.
Westbrook has really been playing well as of late for the Thunder, averaging 40.5 points, 12.0 rebounds, 11.2 assists, 2.5 steals, 0.5 blocks, and 1.2 three-pointers over the last five games.
From an effective field goal percentage perspective, this will be a battle of strength versus strength when the Clippers have the ball. Their sweet-shooting offense ranks third in the NBA in that metric at 52.8%, while the Thunder are third-best in the league in effective field goal percentage defense (47.6%).
The two teams have split their matchups this season. The Thunder had the upper hand in the most recent game, a blowout 131-108 win. Kevin Durant scored a game-high 29 points.
Oddsmakers have deemed this game an even matchup and the Over/Under (O/U) is currently unavailable. The Thunder enter the game with records of 35-28 Straight Up (SU) and 30-31-2 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 19-19 SU and 20-17-1 ATS against teams from the Western Conference. Oklahoma City has averaged 110.7 points per game over the last ten weeks, higher than its season average of 102.3. Oklahoma City has an edge in the rebounding department for this game, where they rack up a league-best 47.6 rebounds per game.
Across the court, Los Angeles has a SU record of 41-23 and an ATS record of 28-36. In Western Conference games, Los Angeles has gone 27-12 SU and 18-21 ATS. The Clippers are an excellent long-range shooting team with 623 three-point shots made (9.7 per game) that ranks fourth in the NBA. The Clippers are a top-five team in the league at finding the open man with an average of 24.4 assists per game. Don’t expect Los Angeles to give away the ball much on offense, where its 11.6 turnovers per game ranks second in the league.
Oklahoma City won the last meeting this season between these two teams, moving its SU record against the Clippers to 6-4 in their last 10 head-to-head meetings. Additionally, the Thunder lead the matchup ATS with a record of 7-3. Oklahoma City and Los Angeles each held the edge in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers) once in their last 10 meetings.
Predictions: SU Winner – OKC, ATS Winner – OKC
Notes
The Los Angeles Clippers are among the highest-scoring squads, earning an average of 106.0 points per game (ranked second), while the Oklahoma City Thunder are in the top half of NBA teams in points allowed with 99.6 (ranked 15th).
On average, Oklahoma City gives up 96.4 points per home game. Los Angeles averages 105.5 points per away game, ranking the team third in scoring.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Los Angeles Clippers are an exceptional 27-4. In games where they score fewer than 100 points, the Oklahoma City Thunder have an underachieving record of 6-18.
When the Los Angeles Clippers allow at least 100 points they are 14-19, while the Oklahoma City Thunder are 29-10 when they reach the century mark.
The Clippers have the league’s top offensive rating (108.9). The Thunder have a defensive rating of 100.8 (ranked 11th).
Ranked second in the NBA, Los Angeles has an average field goal percentage of 47.0%. Oklahoma City is 6-8 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
On average, Oklahoma City attempts 22.5 three pointers and Los Angeles attempts 26.5 per game. In games where the teams have 25 or more three point attempts, the Thunder are even at 8-8 while the Clippers have a solid 27-14 record.
The Los Angeles Clippers top the league in assist to turnover ratio this season with an A/TO of 2.10. The Oklahoma City Thunder have an A/TO of 1.48 (ranked 21st).
The Thunder earn a league-high 47.6 rebounds per game, while the Clippers rank 21st with 42.4 per game.
The Oklahoma City Thunder are the NBA’s best defensive rebounding team. The Los Angeles Clippers rank 27th in offensive rebounding.
Oklahoma City averages a forced turnover rate of 12.9% this season. Los Angeles has a 13-10 record when they suffer a turnover rate equal to or exceeding this.
