Houston Rockets vs Los Angeles Clippers Prediction, 4/9/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Houston Rockets vs Los Angeles Clippers

Date: Friday, April 9, 2021

Location: STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA

TV: Bally Sports SoCal

Odds/Point Spread: Houston (+13.5)

The Los Angeles Clippers (34-18) play the Houston Rockets (14-37) at STAPLES Center on Friday. Houston opens this game as 13.5-point dogs. The over/under has been set at 226.5.

The Houston Rockets played the Dallas Mavericks and walked away with a win by a score of 102-93 in their last contest. Houston walked away from the contest having earned a 43.2% FG percentage (38 of 88) and buried 17 of their 44 3-pointers. At the free throw line, the Rockets knocked down 9 of 16 attempts for a percentage of 56.3%. In terms of pulling down boards, they earned 49 with 10 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 21 assists in this contest as well as forcing the other team into 9 turnovers and getting 7 steals. Pertaining to the defense, Houston allowed their opponent to shoot 37.9% from the field on 33 of 87 shooting. Dallas totaled 16 dimes and had 4 steals in the game. Moreover, Dallas collected 46 boards (11 offensive, 35 defensive) and got 5 blocks. Dallas finished the game at 77.3% when shooting free throws by knocking down 17 of 22 tries. They knocked down 10 of 39 tries from 3-point range.

John Wall is a guy who was a major contributor in the game. He walked away with 31 points on 12 out of 23 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 34:04 minutes and also collected 3 rebounds. Wall finished the contest at 52.2% from the floor and distributed 7 assists. An additional guy that came through in this contest for the Rockets was Christian Wood. He pulled down 10 rebounds in his 36:50 minutes played. He ended up shooting 47.1% from the floor in this contest by going 8-of-17 (22 points). When the time ran out, Wood earned 1 assist.

Houston heads into this matchup with a record of 14-37 so far this year. They have an average of 107.7 pts per contest (24th in the league) while shooting 43.9% from the field. The Rockets are connecting on 33.6% on 3-point shots (689 of 2,052) and 74.1% from the charity stripe. As a team, Houston is collecting 42.3 boards per contest and has totaled 1,162 dimes on the year, which ranks 25th in the league in terms of passing the rock. They turn it over 14.4 times per game and as a group they are committing 20.0 personal fouls on a nightly basis. On the defensive end, the Rockets are able to force 15.0 turnovers per contest and they draw 19.8 personal fouls. They currently rank 14th in the league in allowing assists to their opponents with 1,253 relinquished on the campaign. The Rockets defensively are allowing an opponent FG percentage of 46.8% (767 of 1,009) and they concede 48.1 rebounds per contest as a basketball team. They give up 37.3% from beyond the arc while they are 23rd in basketball in PPG from their opponents (113.8).

The last time they took the court, the Los Angeles Clippers went home victorious with a score of 133-116 against the Portland Blazers. The Clippers collected 40 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 48 in this matchup. They also gave up possession of the ball 7 times, while recording 5 steals for this game. The Blazers were called for 22 fouls in this game which got the Clippers to the free throw line for 30 tries. They were able to convert 25 of those for a rate of 83.3%. Pertaining to shooting from downtown, Los Angeles converted 16 out of their 41 tries (39.0%). At the conclusion of this game, the Clippers shot 46 for 89 from the field which gave them a rate of 51.7%. The Clippers allowed the Blazers to bury 37 out of 92 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 40.2% for this contest. They finished 30.6% from beyond the arc by connecting on 11 out of 36 and ended up going 31 out of 37 at the charity stripe (83.8%). When it comes to cleaning up the glass, Los Angeles permitted Portland to collect 48 in total (14 on the offensive side).

Paul George ended up having an impact for the Clippers in this matchup. He converted 11 out of 18 for this contest for a rate of 61.1%, and totaled 3 rebounds. George earned 36 points in his 34:00 minutes on the hardwood and accounted for 5 assists for this game. One more player that played a role for Los Angeles was Kawhi Leonard. He finished this one with 7 dimes in 36:15 minutes on the hardwood, and he shot 10 of 18 from the floor. Leonard ended the game having shot 55.6% from the field as well as totaling 29 points and 12 total rebounds.

Los Angeles has a record of 34-18 so far this year. The Clippers commit 19.3 personal fouls every game and they go 84.0% from the charity stripe. Their rate of earning assists is at 24.0 times per contest (20th in the NBA) and they cough up possession 12.9 times per contest. Los Angeles has accounted for 5,961 pts on the season (114.6 per game) and they average 44.5 boards per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Clippers are connecting on 48.2% from the floor, which has them ranked 6th in basketball. The Clippers on defense are ranked 6th in basketball in points allowed per contest with 108.1. They have conceded 22.8 dimes and 41.2 total rebounds per game, which has them ranked 4th and 3rd in basketball. The Los Angeles defense allows 36.3% on 3-point attempts (597 of 1,645) and their opposition makes 78.4% of their free throw attempts. They are forcing 12.9 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 46.6% from the field (14th in the league).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Houston (+13.5)

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