Los Angeles Clippers vs Denver Nuggets Prediction, 12/25/2020 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Los Angeles Clippers vs Denver Nuggets

Date: Friday, December 25, 2020

Location: Ball Arena in Denver, CO

TV: ESPN

Odds/Point Spread: Los Angeles (-1)

Ball Arena is the venue where and the Denver Nuggets (0-1) will play the Los Angeles Clippers (1-0) on Friday. Los Angeles opens this game as 1-point favorites. The O/U opens at 223.5.

The Los Angeles Clippers took the court against the Los Angeles Lakers and earned the victory with a final of 116-109 in their last game. The Clips ended the contest having earned a 47.3% field goal percentage (44 of 93) and made 14 of their 40 3-point attempts. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Clippers buried 14 of 19 shots for a rate of 73.7%. In reference to pulling down rebounds, they earned 40 with 11 of them being of the offensive sort. They also distributed 22 assists in this matchup as well as earning 10 steals and 3 blocks. Concerning the defense, Los Angeles allowed the other team to shoot 46.9% from the field on 38 of 81 shooting. Los Angeles totaled 22 assists and had 4 steals in this game. On top of that, the Lakers had 45 rebounds (8 offensive, 37 defensive) and got 2 blocks. Los Angeles finished the game at 77.4% when shooting free throws by knocking down 24 of 31 shots. They also buried 9 of 29 shots from beyond the arc.

Paul George is a player who was a major contributor for the matchup. He ended up walking away with 33 points on 13 of 18 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 35:46 mins and snagged 6 rebounds. George shot 72.2% from the floor and also recorded 3 assists. Another guy that was a major factor in the matchup for the Clippers was Kawhi Leonard. He collected 2 boards and also had 3 assists. He shot 38.5% from the floor in the matchup by shooting 10-of-26 (26 points). When this game wrapped up, Leonard played 34:01 min.

The Clippers hit on 37.1% on three-point shots (895 of 2,410) and 79.1% from the charity stripe last year. They had an average of 116.3 points per outing (4th in basketball) while connecting on 46.6% from the floor. They turned it over 14.6 times per game and as a team committed 22.1 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Los Angeles grabbed 47.7 rebounds per contest and earned 1,708 assists last year, which was 17th in the league in terms of passing. On the defensive end, the Clippers were able to force 14.1 turnovers every game and they drew 22.9 fouls. They were 15th in basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 1,709 relinquished throughout last year. The Clippers defense allowed a shooting percentage of 43.8% (2,846 of 6,494) and they surrendered 45.3 boards per game as a team. They gave up 34.5% on shots from distance while they were 13th in the league in points per game allowed (109.9).

When they last stepped on the court, the Denver Nuggets walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 124-122 when they faced the Sacramento Kings. The Nuggets recorded 35 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive boards for a total of 45 in this matchup. They stuffed 12 tries while getting 6 steals for the matchup. The Kings committed 29 fouls for this contest which took the Nuggets to the free throw line for a total of 24 tries. They were able to bury 20 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 83.3%. In regard to 3-pointers, Denver knocked down 8 out of 29 attempts (27.6%). Overall, the Nuggets shot 47 out of 98 from the floor which gave them a rate of 48.0%. The Nuggets permitted the Kings to knock down 45 of their 101 tries from the floor which had them shooting 44.6% for the matchup. They finished 32.3% from distance by going 10 of 31 and walked away from this one shooting 24 of 31 from the charity stripe (77.4%). Regarding rebounding, Denver allowed Sacramento to snag 53 in total (17 offensive).

Nikola Jokić was pivotal for the Nuggets for the contest. He converted 11 of 18 for this game for a rate of 61.1%, which got him 29 points. Jokić collected 15 rebounds in his 41:51 mins of time on the court and tallied 14 assists for the contest. Someone else that ended being a contributor for Denver was Paul Millsap. He notched 16 points in his 36:06 minutes played by way of 7 of 13 from the floor in this contest. Millsap ended the game having shot 53.8% from the floor as well as totaling 3 dimes and 7 rebounds.

As an offensive unit, the Nuggets shot 47.3% from the field last year, which had them ranked 4th in the league. Denver had 8,124 pts over the course of last year (111.3 per game) and they pulled down 44.1 boards per contest. They earned an assist 26.7 times per contest (4th in the NBA) and they lost possession via turnover 13.8 times per contest. The Nuggets were responsible for committing 20.3 personal fouls per game while shooting 77.7% from the charity stripe. The Nuggets were ranked 11th in the league in points given up per game with 109.2. The Denver defense allowed 35.8% from downtown (885 of 2,473) and their opponents connected on 75.9% of their foul shots. They forced 14.3 turnovers per game and let teams shoot 46.3% from the field (15th in basketball). They relinquished 25.4 assists and 42.6 total boards per game, which was ranked 24th and 4th in those defensive categories.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Los Angeles (-1)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here