Monday’s loaded 12-game NBA slate is headlined by the Los Angeles Clippers visiting the Phoneix Suns.
The pregame narrative: Two Western Conference teams jockeying for position in the standings meet in a marquee matchup. I’m backing the new-look Suns to cover a teased-up spread while adding props on Nick Richards and Kawhi Leonard to make a +285 SGP.
Check out my Clippers vs. Suns same-game parlay predictions for Jan. 27.
Clippers vs. Suns predictions
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Parlay: Suns +4 + Richards over 9.5 rebounds + Leonard over 0.5 steals (+285)
Suns +4 (-152): Phoneix made a trade for big man Richards and it’s made an instant impact.
Since the trade with the Charlotte Hornets, the Suns are 3-1. The sole loss came against the east-leading Cleveland Cavaliers.
Richards fills a big hole at the centre position left by Jusuf Nurkic who went from starter to out of the rotation after being ineffective to start the campaign.
Meanwhile, the Clippers are a respectable 26-19 but struggle on the road. They are 9-11 away from the Intuit Dome.
Phoenix is 14-8 at home and is looking to make a move up the standings.
Other SGP legs
Richards over 9.5 rebounds (-134): Speaking of Richards, the seven-footer has been stuffing the stat sheet.
Besides one dud vs. Cleveland (four points, four rebounds), Richards has excelled, recording double-digit rebounds in the three other games.
He’s also coming off his best performance as a Sun, scoring 20 points and grabbing 19 rebounds against the Washington Wizards in 33 minutes — his most playing time since Oct. 30.
I’m sure Mike Budenholzer loves what he sees and will rely on Richards to compete with Clippers centre Ivica Zubac who ranks fourth in the NBA with 12.5 rebounds per game.
Leonard over 0.5 steals (-245): This is a juiced line but it brings the SGP from +155 to +285 so it feels like a no-brainer to tack it on.
Leonard’s played seven games this season since returning from injury and he’s recorded a steal in six of those contests.
He is on a minute restriction which might concern some but it hasn’t mattered before.
This is a guy who averages 1.7 steals per game over his career. So it’s not surprising he’s been effective on the defensive end of the floor in his limited minutes.
Toronto Raptors fans will remember Leonard for his tenacious defence — amongst other things — and I expect the Klaw to be locked in to guard Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Co.
Picks made at 11:50 a.m. on 01/27/25.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.