LA Clippers Begin Life Without Blake Griffin For 3-6 Weeks

LA Clippers vs Utah Jazz Free NBA Pick and Prediction

Written by on April 7, 2016

While one player can make a huge difference in a team, it takes everyone doing their thing on the court for that team to win consistently. A prime example of this would be the LA Clippers, who had to go a few months without Blake Griffin on the court. Things started well enough for the Clippers, to the point where people started questioning whether or not they needed the presence of Griffin at all. As time wore on, though, things started to break down, and LA started to lose on a more consistent basis, making it clear that they probably wouldn’t be able to make much of a playoff run without the big man in the fold. Griffin has returned from his broken hand, and the Clippers are once again adding digits to the number in the win column. They look like a team ready for postseason play, and they will try to prove that once again when they head to Utah to face the Jazz on Friday night. Keep up to date with all the pro hoops odds on this one at MyBookie.ag.

How To Bet The LA Clippers Vs Utah Jazz NBA Odds, TV & Game Info

When: Friday, April 8 at 9 PM EST Where: EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City TV: FSW2 and ROOT NBA Odds: TBA

Why bet on the LA Clippers

The Clippers (50-28) are coming into this one with 3-straight wins under their belts, albeit against less than spectacular opposition. It’s the results that matter, though, and getting some playing time for Blake Griffin before the playoff battles begin is likely to be the main focus for this team in their final 4 games. It takes some time to knock the rust off when coming back from an extended injury period, and you have to feel that Griffin will be ready to roll come the start of postseason play. The Clippers have been pretty solid on the road at 23-16 this season, and they are on a 7-game win streak in Utah that dates all the way back to 2012. This is a team that the Clippers have owned in recent years. LA are averaging 104.5 PPG, and are giving up 100.4 PPG.

Why bet on the Utah Jazz

When the Jazz (39-39) beat the Clippers earlier this season, they broke a 13-game losing skid against the guys from LA. While it must have been nice to get that monkey off their backs, it doesn’t change the fact that they have had very little success against this team for a few years now. The Jazz are currently clinging to the final playoff spot in the West, and have a 1-game lead over the Rockets in 9th. They need a couple of wins coming down the final stretch, and they have some games remaining where they could potentially get those. This, to me at least, does not look like one of those games, despite the fact that the Jazz are 24-15 at home. Utah are averaging 97.7 PPG, and are giving up 95.8 PPG.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

While the Jazz are certainly the more desperate of the two teams at this time, there is simply no denying the difficulties that they have had against LA in recent years. I see a close one here, but still a win for the Clippers. LA Clippers 100 Utah Jazz 98