Best Clippers vs. Nuggets Player Props, ATS Bets: LA Favored In Denver
Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference first-round playoff series between the Clippers (5) and Nuggets (4) more than lived up to the hype.
The Nuggets survived Game 1 in overtime despite falling into an early 15-point hole, but Denver is a slight home underdog in Game 2 on Monday night.
Can the Nuggets defend homecourt and find a way to go up 2-0 in the series?
Or will the Clippers even it at 1-1 after letting Game 1 slip away in the final minutes on Saturday?
Clippers vs. Nuggets Odds: Spread, ML, Total
| DK | FD | bet365 | |
| LAC spread | -1 (-115) | -1 (-110) | -1 (-115) |
| DEN spread | +1 (-105) | +1 (-110) | +1 (-105) |
| LAC ML | -118 | -112 | -120 |
| DEN ML | -102 | -104 | +100 |
| Total | 217.5 (o-112; u-108) | 218.5 (o-110; u-110) | 218.5 (o-110; u-110) |
How to Watch Clippers vs. Nuggets
- Tipoff: 10 p.m. ET
- Channel: TNT/truTV/Max
Best Clippers vs. Nuggets Player Props
Ivica Zubac 18+ Points (-110 at DraftKings) -- 1 units
The big man in the middle for the Clips followed a breakout regular season with a great start to the playoffs on Saturday. He posted 21 points and 13 rebounds. His defense on Nikola Jokic was also admirable, even though Jokic still managed to finish with 29 points, 9 rebounds and 12 assists.
Zubac managed to play nearly 40 minutes and committed just two fouls in Game 1. He'll likely continue to play 35-plus minutes per night if he can continue to make life difficult for Jokic. In Game 1, Zubac was a big reason the Nuggets shot just 32-for-67 on 2-pointers (and not including Jokic's 11-for-20 shooting on 2-pointers, the rest of the Denver lineup was just 21-for-47 from inside the arc).
Offensively, Zubac has been efficient all season, as evidenced by his 62.8 field goal percentage, but he's been even better in recent weeks. In eight of his last nine games, he's shot over 60 percent from the floor, including 10-for-15 shooting in Game 1 against the Nuggets.
Zubac was quiet offensively in three of the four regular-season meetings between these teams (he scored 24, 6, 3 and 10 points in those games). Still, with all the attention Denver has to put on Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, don't be surprised if Zubac regularly goes over his season scoring average of 16.8 points in this series.
And if Aaron Gordon ends up missing this game, that will only improve Zubac's chances of dominating the paint.
Clippers vs. Nuggets Injury News
No significant pieces for the Clips are listed on their injury report for tonight, while the only absence for the Nuggets will be rookie DaRon Holmes II.
One question for Denver is the status of Aaron Gordon (calf), who is listed as a game-time decision.
Clippers vs. Nuggets Prediction, Best Bets
Denver deserves a ton of credit for pulling out Game 1, but they needed 20 Clippers turnovers (which the Nuggets turned into 29 points off TOs) to pull it off, including a shocking 7 turnovers by Kawhi Leonard.
Don't expect the Nuggets (who are 27th in the NBA in opponent TO percentage at 11.3) to force the Clippers into as many mistakes tonight.
The Clippers limited Jokic to just six free-throw attempts in Game 1, but still allowed the Nuggets to take 27 FTs, as Gordon -- who averages 3.5 FTA per game -- knocked down 8-of-10 from the stripe.
The draining nature of the overtime series opener also favors the deeper Clippers tonight, especially if Gordon is hobbled/limited. Tonight's game, like Game 1, should come down to the final minutes, but I don't see LA letting Denver jump out to a 2-0 lead.
Clippers vs. Nuggets Best Bets:
- Clippers moneyline (-112) -- 1 unit
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