The Los Angeles Clippers and the Charlotte Hornets collide at the Spectrum Center on Monday night.
The Los Angeles Clippers have been in a bit of a rut as they’ve lost four of their past six games and they will be hoping to snap a two-game skid after getting routed by the Kings in a 123-96 loss on Saturday. Brandon Boston Jr. led the team with 18 points off the bench, Ivica Zubac and Terance Mann each scored 13 points while John Wall chipped in with 12 points off the bench. As a team, the Clippers shot a horrid 35 percent from the field and nine of 33 from the 3-point line as they got off to a terrible start and allowed the Kings to pour 38 points on them in the first quarter, before they scored just 14 points themselves in the second quarter to fall behind by 22 points going into halftime. The Clippers just got nothing from their starters especially Marcus Morris who scored just six points on two of 11 shooting and Reggie Jackson who scored just six points on one of 12 shooting.
Meanwhile, the Charlotte Hornets have struggled all season, but they came to life with three wins in four games, before they ran into the Bucks in a 105-96 loss on Saturday. Terry Rozier led the team with 26 points on 10 of 21 shooting, Jalen McDaniels added 21 points, Kelly Oubre scored 20 points while Mason Plumlee chipped in with 13 points, 11 rebounds and three assists. As a team, the Hornets shot just 39 percent from the field and five of 24 from the 3-point line as they struggled to contain the shorthanded Bucks in the first half and fell behind by 14 points, but they stayed in the fight and went on a rally in the fourth quarter to make it interesting late.
Looking at the betting trends, the Clippers are 5-2 ATS in their last seven road games, 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games following a loss and 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games against a team below .400. The Hornets are 2-6 ATS in their last eight games against a team with a winning record and 4-0-1 ATS in their last five games following a loss.
Head to head, the under is 4-1 in the last five meetings overall, the Clippers are 18-6 ATS in the last 24 meetings overall and the Clippers are 6-1 ATS in the last seven meetings in Charlotte.
The Clippers could be severely shorthanded once again as Luke Kennard, Paul George and Kawhi Leonard are all questionable, while Norman Powell has already been ruled out. The Hornets have a bunch of injuries themselves as Mark Williams, Dennis Smith Jr and LaMelo Ball are all out. The Clippers have been well below their best lately which is understandable given the injuries they’ve had to deal with, but I expect them to bounce back against the Hornets as long as George plays in this one. The Clippers are 6-1 ATS in the last seven meetings in Charlotte and I think that trend continues here as the Clippers get the win.