Clippers vs Lakers Picks and Predictions: Morris Shares the Wealth

The battle for L.A. bragging rights takes center stage in NBA betting Tuesday, with the Los Angeles Clippers facing the Los Angeles Lakers inside Crypto.com Arena.

The Lakers made waves with a trade to land versatile forward Rui Hachimura from Washington on Monday, but this new piece to the Purple and Gold puzzle will not suit up against their L.A. rivals tonight. That leaves the Lakers’ backcourt thin as the team tries to extend its winning ways to three-games. And, as is the case with most contests, LeBron James is a game-time decision with a sore ankle.

The Clippers also bring a two-game winning run into Tuesday and are slowly getting healthy, showcasing their firepower with both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George on the floor the past two outings. That duo combined for 103 points in victories over Dallas and San Antonio.

I break down the spread and total for this Pacific Division showdown and give my best NBA picks and predictions for Clippers at Lakers on January 24.

Clippers vs Lakers best odds

Clippers vs Lakers picks and predictions

In a game headlined with superstars on both teams, we go off the beaten path for an NBA player prop pick between the Clippers and Lakers.

Clippers veteran forward Marcus Morris Sr. has seen his scoring numbers dip in January, especially with Paul George returning to action and demanding touches with the basketball. But while Morris’ scoring average had slid in January, he’s influencing the Clips’ offense in other ways.

Morris has dished out a total of 10 assists the past three outings and is averaging 2.7 assists over the previous seven games – a steep rise from his average of just 1.8 assists on the season. Morris has dished out at least two assists in each of those games, going Over his assist total of 1.5 in all seven contests.

Bookies aren’t budging on Morris’ assist Over/Under again on Tuesday, pegging the prop at 1.5 with the juice -145 on the Over. 

He continues to play major minutes for the Clippers and while the team has struggled to score to start the 2023 chunk of the schedule, the past two games have seen the Clips play up to their potential on offense. 

Morris has been especially effective finding open shooters on the perimeter in the Clippers’ spot-up playbook, helping fuel one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the NBA (37.5%). His versatility to swing the ball to open hands on the perimeter or find the shooter out of the post is showing in that uptick in assists. 

The Lakers do struggle to defend spot-up offenses, sitting near the bottom third in points allowed per play and watching spot-up teams fire at a 54.5% effective field goal rate. The Clips rank Top 3 in both success rate and points per play in spot-up sets. On the year, the Lakers allow opponents to rack up almost 26 assists per contest (23rd) with close to 14 of those helpers coming from rival forwards. 

The Clippers' stars should shine bright again in this La-La Land rivalry and someone has to feed them the ball. That someone is Morris.

My best bet: Marcus Morris Sr. Over 1.5 assists (-145)

Clippers vs Lakers spread analysis

The Clippers hit the board as 3.5-point “road” favorites in their own arena and that spread has jumped as high as -5.5 at some books as of Tuesday morning.

The status of LeBron James has made life tough on books and bettors this past month, as the superstar forward seems to be a game-time decision each and every night. James was a late decision for Sunday’s game with Portland, which saw the spread rise from Blazers -4.5 to -6.5 before dipping back to -5.5 when James was announced as a starter.

Seeing that the Lakers are playing the first of back-to-back games, it would seem likely that LeBron would be active tonight in an important divisional matchup with a rival and sit out tomorrow’s game with San Antonio. That would also allow him added rest before Saturday’s road trip to play Boston.

LeBron or no LeBron, the Clippers are deserving favorites. They could be on the rise now that Leonard and George are on the floor together. The Clippers have picked up two straight wins on the backs on those superstars, showing consistency that wasn’t there for most of the month.

The Lakers’ two-game winning run could easily be a three-game losing skid if not for incredible second-half efforts from L.A. Los Angeles overcame a 16-point hole in the fourth quarter to stun Memphis last Friday and rallied from a 25-point deficit in the final 24 minutes to upend Portland on Sunday.

The Clippers enter this matchup with a 23-26 ATS mark on the season, going just 2-3 ATS in their last five games, while the Lakers are 22-24-1 ATS, with a 4-1 ATS count in their previous five outings.

Clippers vs Lakers Over/Under analysis

The Over/Under total opened as high as 233.5 and has dropped to as low as 231 with play on the Under and speculation around James’ status.

The Lakers are already short handed in the backcourt after dealing Kendrick Nunn to the Wizards and are still without center Anthony Davis in the middle of the paint. The Lakers have allowed an average of 120.5 points per game without Davis in the lineup, watching foes fire at a 48.3% clip from the field.

While the Lakers went 8-4 Over/Under in the first 12 games without Davis they’ve since stayed Under the total in six of their last seven games all against numbers far higher than tonight’s Over/Under total.

The Clippers have showcased their ability to pack on the points with Leonard and George in the lineup, but defense remains a troubling spot for the “other” L.A. team. The once-trademark defense of the Clippers has dropped off this month, with the team sitting 25th in advanced defensive rating in January.

While the Clips were giving up points on defense, they were struggling to score the basketball on the other end. Los Angeles was scoring just over 107 points a game in their first nine contests of 2023, but with George in the lineup and Leonard heating up, this is a much different offense.

The Clippers are one of the best Under bets in the NBA at 19-30 O/U while the Lakers enter tonight with a 25-22 O/U count on the season. 

Clippers vs Lakers betting trend to know

The Clippers are 37-17 ATS in the last 54 meetings with the Lakers, including covering in 11 straight as the “visitor” inside Crypto.com Arena. Find more NBA betting trends for Clippers vs. Lakers.

Clippers vs Lakers game info

Clippers vs Lakers key injuries

Pages related to this topic