NBA Regular Season 2023/24, Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024
Friday night, one of the weakest teams in the NBA welcomes one of the strongest teams. The roles between the stumbling Raptors and the ambitious Clippers are therefore fairly clear.
My Raptors Clippers betting tip, for which the Intertops bonus applies, explains why the Southern Californian visitors can be expected to win with some certainty
After the trade of superstar Pascal Siakam to Indiana a week ago, the Toronto Raptors are in full rebuild mode.
The Canadiens’ shrewd general manager Masai Ujiri has chosen two-way forward Scottie Barnes as the centerpiece of the rebuild.
Other young talents such as Immanuel Quickley and R.J. Barrett, who recently arrived from New York for OG Anunoby, are set to complement the rebuild around Barnes.
The Canadiens are currently in 12th place in the Eastern Conference with a record of 16-28.
They have only won two of their last ten games (against Golden State and Miami) and have recently suffered three consecutive defeats.
With a rating of 114.7, the Raptors have a slightly below-average offense (18th).
The same applies to the defense (also ranked 18th with a rating of 116.5).
With 20.7 assists per 100 possessions, only two teams play more assists and only two teams have a better assist/turnover ratio (2.23) than the Canadiens.
In the absence of a true offensive superstar, this is sorely needed, one might think.
However, franchise figurehead Scottie Barnes is well on his way there, as the 22-year-old is already scoring 20.2 points per game at solid rates (48% from the field, 36.7% from the three-point line).
With his height of 2.01m, athleticism, wingspan and versatility, Barnes is undoubtedly reminiscent of Kawhi Leonard, who sensationally led the Raptors to the championship in 2019 and now laces up his basketball shoes for the L.A. Clippers.
The team from the City of Angels has won eight of its last ten games (currently three in a row) and is ranked fourth in the West with a 28-14 record.
With four (aging) future Hall-of-Famers, the Southern Californians can have legitimate hopes for a deep playoff run.
After losing their first five games after acquiring former MVP James Harden, the Clippers bounced back and have lost just four of their last 20 games.
The team under the aegis of coach Tyronn Lue can boast both an elite offensive rating (6th with 119.7) and a decent defensive rating (13th with 114.0).
The game tailored to superstars Kawhi Leonard (23.7 points per game), Paul George (23.5), James Harden (17.3 and 8.5 assists) and bench motor Russell Westbrook (11.3) is reflected, among other things, in the fact that no other team looks for isolation plays more often.
In addition, no other team plays fewer passes than the Clippers.
Meanwhile, German world champion Daniel Theis has quickly established himself as a valuable backup center for the Southern Californians with 6.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 0.9 assists and a strong three-point percentage of 41.9%.
In addition to their strong form, the fact that they have won the last three and seven of the last nine duels with the Canadians speaks in their favor.
I therefore firmly expect the Californians to win, which is why a handicap bet is particularly suitable.
As the Clippers have won each of their last four games by at least nine points and have only won once of their last 16 games by less than 7.5 points, I’m fully backing a win for the visitors despite the -7.5 handicap.
At Intertops, my recommendation is traded at attractive odds of 1.76.
My Raptors Clippers tip: Victory Clippers despite HC -7.5!
