The Brooklyn Nets will try and win their third straight contest as part of an eight-game road trip when they invade the Staples Center this Saturday night to tangle with the Los Angeles Clippers. This East Coast-West Coast clash set to tip off at 10:30 p.m. (ET), and the game will be available on NBA League Pass.

The Nets kicked this extended stay away from home off with back-to-back victories over Detroit and Dallas both straight-up and against the spread. They are now 18-14 SU and ATS on the road this season, and the total has gone “over” in their last five games.

Los Angeles has been on a roller coaster ride with a win followed by a loss in its last nine games for a SU record of 5-4 (4-5 ATS). It is coming off a 101-72 rout of Philadelphia as an 11-point favorite at home. The total has stayed “under” in three of its last four games. 

Nets at Clippers Betting Storylines

With Kris Humphries the only name on the current injury report, Brooklyn is pretty much at full strength for this game. Brook Lopez continues to lead the way with an average of 19 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks a game. Deron Williams and Joe Johnson have combined for another 34.8 points, and Reggie Evans has been a force under the boards with 10.1 rebounds a game.
 
Overall, the Nets are averaging 95.8 points a game while shooting 44.5 percent from the field, but they continue to live and die on defense. They are ranked 11th in the NBA in rebounds with an average of 42.7 and ranked fifth in points allowed by holding opponents to 94.4 points a game.

The Clippers have earned the moniker ‘Lob City’ because of players like Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan’s thunderous dunks, but they have also developed some much better balance throughout their lineup with seven different players averaging at least nine points a game. Griffin leads the team with 18.5 points, and Jamal Crawford has been huge off the bench with 16.9 points a game.

Los Angeles is ranked eighth in the NBA in scoring with 100.8 points a game, but it has also been one of the better teams in the league on the other end of the court. It comes into this matchup ranked fourth in points allowed in giving-up an average of just 94.2 points a game.

Nets at Clippers NBA Betting Odds and Trends

Los Angeles has been opened by BetOnline as an eight-point home favorite for this matchup with the “over/under” set at 193

The Nets are 20-8 ATS in their last 28 games against the Pacific Division and 4-1 ATS in their last five games on the road. The total has gone over in five of their last seven road games.

The Clippers are 10-2 ATS in their last 12 games playing on two days’ rest but 0-4 ATS in their last four games following a SU win. The total has stayed under in five of their last seven games following a SU win.

The home team in this series is 17-4 ATS in the last 21 meetings. The total has gone over in seven of the last 10 games overall and in five of the last six meetings in Los Angeles. Brooklyn won the first meeting this season 86-76 in late November as a three-point favorite at home.

Nets vs. Clippers Predictions

These teams match up extremely well, especially on defense, so expect a close, hard-fought battle that will remain up in the air until the final few possessions. Brooklyn is actually more than capable of winning this game SU, so given its current form the eight-point spread is a gift.

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Read more articles by Dave Schwab