Filip Tomic
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The Clippers vs Suns matchup might be the most intriguing first round series of this year’s NBA Playoffs. The two teams square off in Game 1 at Footprint Center tonight, tip-off is live from 8 pm on TNT. I’ve also prepared a Same Game Parlay which you can find below.
Head over to our NBA Predictions page for picks on the side and total for all 4 games being played this Sunday.
Without further ado let’s dive into my SGP bet now.
Phoenix Suns -7.5 Point Spread (-108)
Russell Westbrook to Record 8+ Assists (-140)
Ivica Zubac to Score 10+ Points (-165)
Parlay odds: +490
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Phoenix Suns -7.5 (-108)
Phoenix has a number of edges in this matchup, especially since Paul George is still undergoing treatment for his sprained knee. At the moment, there is no timetable for his return, which not the news you want to hear if you’re a Clippers fan. Los Angeles and Phoenix split the 4 meetings during the regular season, but the circumstances were a lot different given the Suns personnel at this stage. Kevin Durant will likely be the reason that Phoenix makes a deep run in this year’s playoffs and he’s still undefeated in a Suns uniform, going 8-0 since his arrival.
The Durant and Devin Booker pairing looks like a dream duo so far, but this team is still relatively new. One advantage they’ll have ahead of the series opener is health, as all of their top players are ready to go compared to the Clippers struggles with staying healthy. Durant has looked flawless so far, and until the Suns lose a home game, there’s no reason not to keep backing Phoenix.
Read our LA Clippers vs Phoenix Suns Predictions
Russell Westbrook to Record 8+ Assists (-140)
Russ has had a massive impact on the Clippers over his last 7 games averaging 19.3 points and 8.6 assists per game. He still has plenty left in the tank, and I think this is a really good situation for him to prove that once again. George will most likely miss the entire series against the Suns, so Westbrook should get way more playing time than the 30.1 minutes per game that he averaged in his last 10 regular season outings. The Clippers aren’t the deepest at the point guard position, so most of the offense will be generated by him. With 4 players playing significant minutes in the rotation averaging over 40% efficiency from three this season, there will be plenty of options to pass the ball to. And then there’s also big man Ivica Zubac who loves to feed off of Russ whenever possible. I wouldn’t be surprised if Westbrook finished with 10 assists here, but let’s back him to get 8 as a slightly safer option.
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Ivica Zubac to Score 10+ Points (-165)
Russell Westbrook getting 8 assists will pretty much be interconnected with Ivica Zubac scoring 10 points here I think. Russ loves to get his big men involved, I don’t think you’ll find a center who has played with Westbrook that’s been unhappy with his point guard. The Croatian big man has benefited from Russ’s arrival probably the most out of any Clippers player. He was averaging 10.2 points per game in 59 games before LA signed him, that number has gone up to 12.7 per game since. His field goal percentage also went up from 61.7% to 68.5% which is a clear indicator he is getting better looks when Russ is handling the rock.
Facing Ayton won’t be an easy matchup for Zubac, but he has proven in recent head-to-head meetings that he is able to stand his ground against the Suns center. In the last 6 meetings against him, he’s scored more than 10 points 5 times, so I really like his chances of doing that here as well.
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