After a few weeks of lousy double-headers on TNT, we get a couple of tasty matchups on Thursday. For the first course, we’ll see a possible NBA Finals preview when the Los Angeles Clippers visit the red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers. And in the late game, we’ll see a matchup of two Western Conference teams in playoff position, pitting the Portland Trail Blazers quality defense versus the Phoenix Suns stellar offense.
Los Angeles Clippers @ Cleveland Cavaliers
NBA Odds: Cavaliers -4.5
There is going to be a lot of buzz surrounding this game, given its superstar presence. Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, LeBron James, Kevin Love, and Kyrie Irving on the same floor? That’s pretty special.
When Cleveland was floundering and near the .500 mark a number of weeks ago, the Cavaliers were still able to beat the Clippers in Los Angeles. The Clips know this and that means revenge will be on their minds. They’ll try to get back at Cleveland on the road this Thursday but that task has become exponentially hard. That’s because the Cavaliers have won 11 games in a row and is flat-out rolling right now. They are playing like the team we all expected them to be and now they have a pretty good shot of getting the number two playoff seed in the Eastern Conference before the regular season runs its course.
LeBron has been fresher and better than at any prior point in the season upon coming back from injuries a few weeks ago. He is getting the Cavaliers to play team basketball on offense and while their point differential of 2.6 points is still not great, but it’s now higher than the Washington Wizards and Chicago Bulls, the two teams immediately in front of the Cavs in the East standings. The Clippers might average 106.7 points per game but Cleveland limits opponents to just 99.1 points per contest.
The Clippers are just a wildly unreliable bet these days. They go from losing in New Orleans as a favorite to winning in San Antonio (by 20) as a big underdog. And then they followed that up with a disheartening loss on Monday night in Brooklyn when they blew an eight-point lead with 1:10 left in the fourth quarter. They’ve been unpredictable but that loss has surely infuriated the Clippers, who might now take out their frustrations on Cleveland. The Clippers are still 7-3 in their last 10, which isn’t an 11-game winning streak, but which is still very solid. And they only allow 99.7 points per game, which – in the Western Conference – means more than in the more offensively-challenged East. That last stat should come in handy on Thursday and be one of the chief reasons they cover. That and the fact that they want some revenge. Pick: Clippers +4.5
Phoenix Suns @ Portland Trail Blazers
NBA Odds: Suns +4.5
This is a game in which the outcome feels like a toss-up. On one hand, Portland struggled to put away the Utah Jazz the other night. LaMarcus Aldridge is not 100 percent and won’t ever be during the regular season, since he has opted not to sit out due to an injury. He’s postponing further (significant) medical treatment until after the season is over. You could also say from a Portland perspective that Phoenix has trouble winning close games. The Suns lost a game they felt they should have won against Memphis earlier in the week. Phoenix committed a foul on a Memphis basket late in the game, enabling the Grizzlies to hit the foul shot and win by a point, 102-101. Phoenix is 2-8 in games decided by three points or fewer this season. That’s kind of remarkable in the bad-luck department.
Both teams are in a bit of a funk as the Suns have dropped two straight and four of six. Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers have lost eight of 11. The difference in this one should be home-court advantage as Phoenix is just 13-12 on the road while Portland is 21-5 at home. Lay the points. Pick: Blazers -4.5
