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The Clippers vs. Thunder odds were set at Oklahoma City -8.5 with a total of 206 at Sportsbook.com.
The Oklahoma City Thunder look to get their first win against the Clippers on their home floor since leaving Seattle in 2008 when the two match up Tuesday night.
Blake Griffin will be coming in sky-high off his Slam Dunk Contest victory and the chance to play in his home state. Griffin, who grew up in Oklahoma and attended the University of Oklahoma, has emerged as one of the NBA’s brightest young stars. The 21-year-old has averaged 22.8 PPG and 12.6 RPG in his first season after missing all of last year with a knee injury. Any time a player averages more points than his age, you know that they are something special. Even through Griffin’s success, the Clippers have lost seven of their past nine games. Los Angeles deeply misses their other young stud Eric Gordon (24.1 PPG), who will be absent for the 14th consecutive game with a broken wrist. Los Angeles needs Chris Kaman, who just recently returned from missing 34 games with an ankle injury, to help out Griffin with scoring and rebounding. Other than Gordon and Griffin, the only other player averaging in double digits is the aging Baron Davis (13.1 PPG).
The Thunder have picked up their play, winning 7-of-10 and most recently dismantling the Kings 126-96. The last meeting the Thunder had with the Clippers, their lanky star Kevin Durant (28.9 PPG) shot 6-for-24 and finished with only 16 points as the Clippers won 107-92. The only teams the Thunder have not beaten on their home floor since moving to Oklahoma City are the Clippers and Celtics. This may change this meeting due to Los Angeles’ brutal 5-21 road record. When most people talk about the Thunder they mention Kevin Durant, but Russell Westbrook (22.2 PPG) has become one of the NBA’s best point guards. In only his third year, Westbrook has improved his scoring and assists each year and the sky is the limit for this kid.
The Clippers enjoy shootouts with good offensive, but bad defensive, teams going 17-10 ATS against teams that allow 99.0 PPG or more and 19-11 against teams scoring 99.0 PPG or more. Los Angeles also has had success versus Northwest Division opponents (9-5 ATS). The Thunder have been average at home against the spread (14-12) but have been terrific revenging a loss to opponents, going 15-7 ATS. It has also been terrible Tuesdays for the Clippers who are 3-13 ATS in their last 16 Tuesday games.
