Clippers Host Nuggets Jockeying for Playoff Spots

ESPN Late Game Showcases Teams Battling for 8th Seed

The Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Clippers will be jockeying for playoff position on Wednesday when they battle at STAPLES Center. ESPN has the telecast and tip-off is scheduled for 10:30 pm EST.

The NBA season just turned toward the second half. The Nuggets sit toward the bottom of the Western Conference's playoff seedings. The Clippers are half-game back in ninth place.

Oddsmakers have the Clippers listed as a 3.5-point favorite. The total is at 221.5.

Clippers Have a Resurgence with Griffin Back

Last time out for Los Angeles, they were a 113-102 winner as they battled the Houston Rockets at home. The Clippers covered in the match as a +4.5-point underdog, while 215 combined points moved the game UNDER for totals bettors.

The Clippers have seen a resurgence with the return of All-Star forward Blake Griffin. Griffin is back from a knee issue that kept him out for a month. He also had a concussion that cost him two more games.

Wednesday's game will be the end of the Clippers' run of 12 consecutive games in California. Ten of those games took place at the Staples Center. They have lost just three of those 10 games.

The Clippers nearly came to blows in their victory with the Houston Rockets. It was both on the court near the end of the game and in the locker room area after the game. The NBA is investigating.

The Clippers have been crushed by injuries all season. That may be a factor in the edge they have displayed lately. Griffin is back now from a knee issue that kept him out for a month and a concussion that cost him two more games.

Guard Austin Rivers (ankle), forward Danilo Gallinari (glute) and guard C.J. Williams (ankle) have all missed time lately. Center DeAndre Jordan (ankle) has missed two games and is listed as "questionable" tonight.

Nuggets Heading in Wrong Direction

Last time out for Denver, they were a 105-102 winner as they battled the Dallas Mavericks at home. The Nuggets failed to cover in the match as a -6.5-point favorite, while 207 combined points moved the game UNDER for totals bettors.

The Nuggets seemed to be hitting a mid-season wall before Tuesday's victory. Denver  lost four of its last five previous games. They almost blew a big lead against the Mavericks, but held on. Only one of those defeats came at home, but they all count in the standings.

A victory Wednesday would be a morale booster for Denver. With a win the squad will then play its next five games at home. Only one playoff caliber team is in that stretch. The Nuggets could pull off a little run.

The Nuggets will be without forward Paul Milsap (wrist).

Recent Form

Name	Record	ATS	Offense	Defense	Diff	ATS Home	ATS Away	OU Record	OU Home	OU Away
Denver	23-21	20-22-2	106.18	105.52	0.66000000000001	12-9	8-13-2	18-26	8-13	10-13
LA Clippers	22-21	24-19	107.47	106.72	0.75	12-10	12-9	24-18-1	13-8-1	11-10

Power Stats

Assists Turnovers
Name	Assists	Turnovers	Ratio
DEN	23.41	15.09	1.55
LAC	21.53	14.47	1.49

Rebounding
Name	Offense	Defense	Total
DEN	11.55	33.48	45.03
LAC	10.16	33.19	43.35

ShootingPercentage
Name	Offense	Defense	Differential
DEN	46.05	47.38	-1.33
LAC	46.23	45.57	0.66

Team Records

Denver Nuggets

Name	Record	Home	Away	ATS	ATS Home	ATS Away	Offense	Defense	Diff
Overall	23-21	16-5	7-16	20-22-2	12-9	8-13-2	106.18	105.52	0.66
Last 10	4-6	4-2	0-4	4-5-1	3-3	1-2-1	104.10	106.90	-2.80
vs Div	4-6	3-1	1-5	6-4	3-1	3-3	98.80	99.90	-1.10
vs EAST	9-7	5-3	4-4	5-10-1	2-6	3-4-1	109.19	107.00	2.19
vs WEST	14-14	11-2	3-12	15-12-1	10-3	5-9-1	104.46	104.68	-0.22

Los Angeles Clippers

Name	Record	Home	Away	ATS	ATS Home	ATS Away	Offense	Defense	Diff
Overall	22-21	13-9	9-12	24-19	12-10	12-9	107.47	106.72	0.75
Last 10	8-2	5-2	3-0	7-3	4-3	3-0	115.50	109.20	6.30
vs Div	10-2	5-2	5-0	9-3	5-2	4-1	116.33	106.17	10.16
vs EAST	6-8	4-3	2-5	8-6	3-4	5-2	99.93	102.21	-2.28
vs WEST	16-13	9-6	7-7	16-13	9-6	7-7	111.10	108.90	2.20

Supergrid

Title	Stat	Rank	Stat	Rank
Away Team Overall Scoring vs Home Team Overall Defense	106.18	12	106.72	19
Away Team Away Scoring vs Home Team Home Defense	103.17	19	106.55	22
Away Team Road Rebounds vs Home Team Home Rebounds Allowed	44.17	11	43.14	19
Home Team Overall Scoring vs Away Team Overall Defense	107.47	8	105.52	14
Home Team Home Scoring vs Away Team Road Defense	110.09	8	108.57	22
Home Team Home Rebounds vs Away Team Road Rebounds Allowed	43.73	15	42.00	4

Head To Head Summary

Team	record	ATS	O/U	AVG	AVG ½	FG%	REB	3PT	steals
Denver	4-6	5-5	3-7	102.40	50.60	45.99	41.70	109/293	8.50
LA Clippers	6-4	5-5	3-7	104.90	52.30	43.26	48.00	94/276	6.80

Head To Head Detail

Date	Away	away score	Home	home score	line	ATS	Total	O/U	FG% Edge	Reb Edge	3PT Edge	Away Half Score	Home Half Score	Away FG%	Home FG%	Away Rebounds	Home Rebounds	Away Three Pointers	Home Three Pointers	Away Steals	Home Steals
Mar 16, 2017	LAC	114	DEN	129	-5.5	DEN	221.5	O	DEN	DEN	LAC	46	59	52.4	53.5	34	48	16/32	15/28	5	7
Jan 21, 2017	LAC	98	DEN	123	-5	DEN	222.5	U	DEN	DEN	Push	45	59	41.7	52.9	35	46	10/32	10/24	5	4
Dec 26, 2016	DEN	106	LAC	102	4.5	LAC	208.5	U	LAC	DEN	DEN	63	46	43.9	46.4	51	38	11/31	9/25	10	6
Dec 20, 2016	DEN	102	LAC	119	-8	LAC	217.5	O	LAC	DEN	LAC	53	68	43.3	54.7	46	37	11/39	16/36	5	7
Mar 27, 2016	DEN	90	LAC	105	-8.5	LAC	208.5	U	LAC	Push	LAC	48	52	39.4	47.5	44	44	7/29	10/28	7	13
Feb 24, 2016	DEN	87	LAC	81	-11	DEN	213.5	U	DEN	DEN	LAC	53	39	37.8	35.3	57	47	6/24	13/46	11	13
Nov 24, 2015	LAC	111	DEN	94	7	LAC	204.5	O	LAC	DEN	Push	51	45	46.8	39.7	43	48	8/20	8/25	10	3
Apr 13, 2015	DEN	103	LAC	110	-18	DEN	214.5	U	LAC	DEN	DEN	57	54	37.6	45.1	58	47	12/33	7/21	7	7
Apr 4, 2015	LAC	107	DEN	92	11	LAC	215.5	U	LAC	LAC	LAC	55	39	43	37.6	47	44	13/34	6/22	9	7
Jan 26, 2015	DEN	98	LAC	102	-14.5	DEN	215.5	U	DEN	LAC	DEN	47	50	48.2	47.5	38	45	8/21	7/19	7	10

NBA Betting Trends

Denver Nuggets
Denver is 1-4-1 ATS in its last 6 games
Denver is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Denver's last 7 games
Denver is 8-13-2 ATS in its last 23 games on the road
Denver is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Denver's last 7 games on the road
Denver is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing LA Clippers
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Denver's last 11 games when playing LA Clippers
Denver is 3-6 ATS in its last 9 games when playing on the road against LA Clippers
Denver is 2-8 SU in its last 10 games when playing on the road against LA Clippers
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Denver's last 6 games when playing on the road against LA Clippers

Los Angeles Clippers
LA Clippers is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
LA Clippers is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 7 of LA Clippers's last 8 games
LA Clippers is 8-3 ATS in its last 11 games at home
LA Clippers is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of LA Clippers's last 6 games at home
LA Clippers is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing Denver
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of LA Clippers's last 11 games when playing Denver
LA Clippers is 6-3 ATS in its last 9 games when playing at home against Denver
LA Clippers is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games when playing at home against Denver
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of LA Clippers's last 6 games when playing at home against Denver

Team Last 5 Games

Denver Nuggets

Date	Opponent	score	Result	line	Total	ATS Result	field goal percentage	free throw percentage	three pointers	Location
Jan 16, 2018	DAL	105-102	W	-6.5	210	L/U	46.51	65.38	8	H
Jan 13, 2018	SAN	80-112	L	7.5	208	L/U	34.94	88.24	7	A
Jan 12, 2018	MEM	87-78	W	-6.5	203.5	W/U	38.57	81.25	7	H
Jan 10, 2018	ATL	97-110	L	-9	215.5	L/U	40.00	60.00	9	H
Jan 8, 2018	GS	114-124	L	10	227.5	P/O	49.47	75.00	8	A

Los Angeles Clippers

Date	Opponent	score	Result	line	Total	ATS Result	field goal percentage	free throw percentage	three pointers	Location
Jan 15, 2018	HOU	113-102	W	4.5	230.5	W/U	55.70	75.00	10	H
Jan 13, 2018	SAC	126-105	W	-7	216	W/O	56.10	84.62	12	H
Jan 11, 2018	SAC	121-115	W	-3.5	213	W/O	51.19	73.33	13	A
Jan 10, 2018	GS	125-106	W	12	219	W/O	49.46	78.57	11	A
Jan 8, 2018	ATL	108-107	W	-4.5	214	L/O	44.71	67.65	9	H

Next up:
Denver home to Phoenix Friday, January 19
Los Angeles at Utah Saturday, January 20

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