Trail Blazers vs Clippers Picks and Predictions: George Has A Great Matchup To Rack Up Points

The Los Angeles Clippers will be looking for their first win of the season when they host the Portland Trail Blazers tonight at the STAPLES Center.

The Blazers are fresh off a blowout victory over the Phoenix Suns, but the NBA betting odds have the Clippers set as 3-point favorites in this one.

CJ McCollum had 28 points in the win over Phoenix on Saturday — can he work his magic to lead his team to another big win? Keep reading our Blazers vs. Clippers picks and predictions for Monday, October 25, to find out. 

Trail Blazers vs Clippers odds

Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.

This line has stayed completely still since it opened, as the Blazers are still 3-point road underdogs in this game at the time of writing. The total has done some shifting, however, with the number opening at 224.5 and moving to 231.5 at almost every book. Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until tip-off and be sure to check out the full NBA odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.

Trail Blazers vs Clippers predictions

• Prediction: Clippers -3.0 (-110)
• Prediction: Under 231.5 (-110)
• Best bet: Paul George Over 28.5 points (-105)

Predictions made on 10/25/2021 at 10:38 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.

Trail Blazers vs Clippers game info

• Location: STAPLES Center, Los Angeles, CA
• Date: Monday, October 25, 2021
• Tip-off: 10:30 p.m. ET
• TV: NBA TV, Bally Sports SoCal, ROOT Sports

Trail Blazers vs Clippers betting preview

Injuries

Trail Blazers: Norman Powell F (Out), Tony Snell F (Out).
Clippers: Keon Johnson G (Questionable), Kawhi Leonard F (Out), Serge Ibaka C (Out) .
Find our latest NBA injury reports.

Betting trend to know

The Clippers are 4-0 ATS in the last four head-to-head matchups in Los Angeles. Find more NBA betting trends for Trail Blazers vs. Clippers.

Trail Blazers vs Clippers picks and predictions

Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.

Spread analysis

The Clippers have won six games in a row against the Blazers, going 4-1-1 against the spread in those contests. Last year, their first season under coach Tyronn Lue, the Clippers went 11-3 SU and 9-5 ATS when coming off a home loss — and went 14-11 ATS when the line is +3 to -3.

The Blazers are also about to play their first road game of the season. Portland’s shooters were scorching in two home wins to start the season but the crowd definitely factored into those performances. The fans played a huge role in giving the Blazers confidence but they aren’t going to have that luxury against the Clippers.

Lue’s team also happens to have the right defensive personnel to give the Blazers trouble tonight: Eric Bledsoe is a very good point-of-attack defender and he’ll be chasing Damian Lillard around in this one. Lillard is still capable of scoring 30 against anybody, but Bledsoe will make him work hard on both ends of the floor, which could factor into things when Lillard starts to get tired legs towards the end of the game.

With Norman Powell out, the Clippers can also use Paul George as the main defender on C.J. McCollum. George is one of the game’s best defenders and he has the length to really make things rough on McCollum.

If Portland’s backcourt doesn’t show up in a big way, Los Angeles is going to end up having no problems winning this game. The Clippers aren’t all that talented on the offensive end, but the Blazers are a lousy defensive team and Lue will have his team prepared to attack that group adequately.

Prediction: Clippers -3.0 (-110)

Over/Under analysis

The Clippers played at the third-slowest pace in the regular season last year and the team ended up playing at the second-slowest pace of the 16 teams in the postseason. Considering the success that Los Angeles had in both — despite dealing with a number of injuries — one would think that the team will get back to playing a slower game this year.

Through two games thus far, the Clippers have played at the 17th-fastest pace in the NBA. For whatever reason, Los Angeles has sped up the way it likes to play but look for that to change soon, as with the Clippers being 0-2 on the year, it’s time for them to get back to doing what they do best.

Los Angeles needs to value each possession and focus on being a hard-nosed team defensively. That is how the Clippers can stay afloat with Kawhi Leonard on the sidelines.

If Los Angeles can slow the pace, there won’t be enough possessions in this game for the Over to come through — even with all the offensive talent on Portland. Also, Powell’s absence could be a big one for the total, as he’s an excellent scorer and has his trouble on the defensive end.

Prediction: Under 231.5 (-110)

Best bet

George is averaging 35 points per game through two games this season, and he’s doing so on 56.3-percent shooting from the floor and hitting 43.5-percent of his threes. The star wing is shooting the ball well right now, and he now faces a Blazers team that isn’t very good defensively.

Portland does have Robert Covington to defend George on the wing, but Covington is actually a bit overrated as an on-ball defender. George has the skill and quickness to get by him on the regular — and his team is going to need him to do so in this one.

Don’t expect George to score 41 again, as he did against Memphis, but it’s hard to envision him not dropping at least 30 with this matchup. Los Angeles does not want to start the season with an 0-3 record and George is who the team is going to lean on.

Pick: Paul George Over 28.5 points (-105)

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