Los Angeles Clippers at Denver Nuggets Betting Preview/Prop Pick

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— Wednesday, January 19th LA Clippers @ Denver Nuggets

The Los Angeles Clippers are coming off of a win over the Pacers before heading to Denver. It's been a pretty mediocre season for the Clippers (22-23), mostly due to injuries.

The good part is they've had multiple players step up and perform at a high level. In their win over the Pacers, it was Nicolas Batum, who scored 32 points in the second half. They'll need his help again tonight.

The Denver Nuggets have had a fairly similar season to the LA Clippers. They're currently 22-20 but are coming off a huge 125-102 loss to the Utah Jazz. The Western Conference is still pretty tight, giving both of these teams a chance to secure a better spot.

However, neither of these teams has had much consistency. This is something they'll need to address tonight.

Los Angeles Clippers: Paul George's downtime extended

More bad news for the Clippers as Paul George will be out for a few more weeks. The injuries to the Clippers this season have really put them in an unfortunate spot. They lost Kawhi Leonard some time ago, and now Paul George is out.

Relying on the supporting cast is great, but those two were supposed to lead the Clippers. Now it falls to Nicolas Batum and Reggie Jackson.

Each of them had a great outing against the Pacers, Batum with 32-points and Jackson with 26. The problem is they'll have no real plan to stop Nikola Jokic, who's easily going to dominate the interior.

Without a way to stretch the floor, the Clippers could be overwhelmed down low. This is especially true if Jokic starts to spread the ball around; he averages 7.4 assists per game.

Denver Nuggets: Interior domination is what they'll look for

The Nuggets know that the Clippers are missing their two best players. They'll exploit this by dominating the paint and exploiting the Clippers' defense. The Nuggets were just rattled by the Jazz, and they'll look to get their mojo back.

Nikola Jokic and his 25.3 points per game average will help the Nuggets get back on track. Our main question is can they cover the spread tonight?

The Nuggets come in as 7.5-point favorites in this game. Although this may seem high, you have to remember all the players missing in the Clippers lineup. With George out, the Clippers lose one of their best scorers.

Reggie Jackson currently leads the team in points per game at 16.4. He'll be matched up against Monte Morris, one of the better defensive guards in the NBA.

Our pick for the Los Angeles Clippers at Denver Nuggets

It's no secret that the Clippers are banged-up, and the Nuggets can exploit that easily. They already have the best center in the NBA with Nikola Jokic.

Aaron Gordon has been shooting well from beyond the arc, giving the Nuggets a chance to stretch the floor. In their last ten games, the Nuggets have gone 6-4 against the Clippers. 

Although the spread is fairly large, we believe the Nuggets will actually win by more. The Clippers have gone 1-4 ATS in their last five games, and they're missing Paul George. It only makes sense to take Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets here. 

DunkelIndex Free Pick: Denver Nuggets -7.5, OVER

Prop Pick

Denver (-115) OVER 110.5 Points

The Nuggets have gone OVER in each of their last four home games and six of their last seven home games versus teams with a losing road record (the Clippers are 7-11 on the road this season). Denver put up 133 and 140 points, respectively, in its two most recent home wins over the Lakers and Trail Blazers.

With Dunkel predicting a Denver victory tonight by the score of 116-101, take the Nuggets (-115) to finish OVER the Vegas team total of 110.5 points against the Clippers.

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