I could be absolutely wrong on this one, but the value we are getting here I think is tremendous and would be a fool to pass up. Some are reading this saying, you’re a fool for backing this team. George is hurt, Westbrook has made them worse and betting against KD in the playoffs is a recipe for disaster. Well, those are all valid points, but none of this seems to faze me.
Regardless of the roster, who was sitting or not sitting, or where they were playing. These guys came to play on the road on a consistent basis. It’s a category I always look at come playoff time, because let’s be honest. Most good playoff teams are very good at home and can win at home, but stealing that 1 game on the road is tremendous in a playoff series, and can usually be the difference of who moves on. This team is battle tested, has veteran experience in the playoffs and have assembled one of the deepest rosters in basketball. They also have a ‘KD’ of their own in Kawaii Leonard, who I believe has had his fair share of success.
Paul George complained about the schedule in this first round series, well I wouldn’t complain too loud. This team is FRESH, and I’ll explain why. They have played 21 games since the All-Star break, most have played 22. Of the 21, just 8 away games, and 2 were in the same city in back to back games. They have played 4 back to backs (0 days rest) since the break, the immediate travel was: SF to Sacramento, Memphis to New Orleans, LA to Phoenix and their last B2B was the last 2 games of the season, where the starters did not play. They have had a full week off, yes I know like Phoenix, but it just adds to their freshness. All of this might sound petty to some, but if any of you played any level of sports, you know every ounce of energy is needed when going into battle.
We all know Booker is incredible, KD is a 1st ballot Hall of Famer, Ayton has been one of the best big men in basketball for a while, but what happens when it’s not those three. Who is going to step up vs Plumlee, Hyland, Mann, Powell and Covington. It may not be many minutes, but they are most certainly valuable minutes, as well precious minutes. I say precious because high court time can catch up with you quickly in a long series. Between all 3 ‘stars’ on Phoenix, they have missed A LOT of time in 2022-23. I think all this hurts them in a 7 game series. The term battle-tested is so important, because the Clippers have played close games all year. They have also made many mistakes closing out games, which I believe they have learned from, we can hope.
This team has the ability to put it all together, which is where the value comes from. At +370 I sure wouldn’t count them out of this series!
Clippers Win Series +370 (BetMGM) 1 unit
Clippers Win Western Conference +2400 (Caesars) 0.25 units
Clippers Win Finals +5000 (BetMGM) 0.1 units
