The Battle of Los Angeles is renewed when the Clippers host the Lakers in primetime on Sunday night.
The pregame narrative: The Clippers have dominated this fixture in recent years and have Kawhi Leonard back in the lineup. I’m backing them to win, Kawhi to score, and Austin Reaves to stuff the stat sheet in this +320 wager.
Check out my Lakers vs. Clippers same-game parlay predictions for Jan. 19.
Lakers vs. Clippers predictions
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Parlay: Clippers moneyline + Leonard over 14.5 points + Reaves over 28.5 PRA (+320)
Clippers moneyline (-195): A trio of Clippers — James Harden, Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac — are listed as questionable. But each played on Thursday and the -4.5 line gives me confidence they’ll suit up tonight.
Still, it’s something worth monitoring.
The Clips have exceeded expectations this year and have thrived at the freshly built Intuit Dome. L.A. is 14-6 straight up at home and 9-2 ATS as a home favourite.
Shaving off a few points on the spread against a struggling Lakers squad makes sense to me.
The Clippers have also won seven of the last 10 meetings between these teams.
SGP legs
Leonard over 14.5 points (-215): Leonard is being treated with kid gloves right now, which makes sense considering his injury history.
He’s played no more than 24 minutes a night since making his season debut on Jan. 4 but is coming off a 24-point outing (on 8-of-11 shooting) against the Brooklyn Nets.
Kawhi has seen a minutes uptick in each game back so I’m hoping he gets into the high 20s tonight. But even if he doesn’t, this line should be attainable.
Leonard averaged 26.0 PPG against the Lakers last year on 53.7% shooting.
Reaves over 28.5 PRA (-129): Reaves is quickly becoming a special player.
The fourth-year shooting guard is coming off a 38-point night against the Brooklyn Nets, showing his ceiling as a scorer.
He’s averaging a career-best 18.5 PPG while also posting highs in rebounds (4.3) and assists (6.1).
That nets out to a 28.9 PRA which is right around this number. However, a slow start to the season is weighing that average down.
Reaves is averaging 20.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 7.1 assists (33.1 PRA) since returning from an injury on Dec. 12.
Picks made at 11:24 a.m. on 01/19/24.
Avery joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2022 before stepping into a full-time role soon after. He loves betting on and analyzing golf — mainly because it’s easier than actually playing — but is a fan of all sports, from the NFL to the UFC.