The Washington Wizards and the Los Angeles Clippers collide at the Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday night.
The Washington Wizards have been in decent shape as they’ve split their last 10 games overall, but they will be eager to build some momentum in this one after beating the Pacers in a 133-123 win on Sunday. Kristaps Porzingis led the team with 25 points on seven of 12 shooting in his debut, Kyle Kuzma added 23 points with eight assists while Kentavious Caldwell-Pope chipped in with 19 points and five assists. As a team, the Wizards shot 52 percent from the field and 17 of 42 from the 3-point line as they struggled to match the Pacers early on and trailed going into halftime, before exploding for 76 points in the second half as Porzingis and the bench finished with a flurry.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Clippers have been in great form as they’ve won seven of their past 10 games overall, but they will be hoping to snap a two-game skid after getting blown out by the Warriors in a 112-97 road loss last night. Nicolas Batum led the team in scoring with 17 points, Marcus Morris and Luke Kennard each scored 11 points while Isaiah Hartenstein chipped in with 10 points off the bench. As a team, the Clippers shot just 35 percent from the field and 12 of 39 from the 3-point line but the entire second half was played as garbage time after managed just 15 points in the second quarter to fall behind by 18 points going into halftime. Reggie Jackson had a nightmare of a game as he finished with just five points on two of 14 shooting while Ivica Zubac scored just four points on zero of six shooting.
Looking at the betting trends, the Wizards are 7-15-1 ATS in their last 23 road games, 16-35-1 ATS in their last 52 games playing on two days’ rest and 7-18-1 ATS in their last 26 games overall. The Clippers are 4-1 ATS in their last five games playing on zero days’ rest and 7-2 ATS in their last nine games overall.
Head to head, the over is 8-0 in the last eight meetings in Los Angeles, the Wizards are 0-5 ATS in the last five meetings in Los Angeles and the Wizards are 2-8 ATS in the last 10 meetings overall.
The Wizards have struggled for most of the season, but they are coming into this meeting with some momentum after beating the Pacers in their last outing. The Clippers were on a nice run of their own before losing their last two and they will be eager to atone for last night’s poor performance against the Warriors, especially Jackson who had his worst game of the season. You can make an argument for either side here, but the Wizards have looked like a different team with Porzingis in the lineup and I think they can take advantage of a weary Clippers team in this spot.