Betting on NBA Futures?
Chris Paul and the Los Angeles Clippers gave us one of the best first-round series we’ve seen not just this year, but in recent memory when they took down the San Antonio Spurs in seven games.
NBA Basketball Odds
Odds To Win 2015 Championship: 12/1
Regular Season Record: 56-26
Conference: West
Playoff Seed: 3
***2015 NBA BONUSES***
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Give the Spurs credit too for providing us with such entertainment, but now it’s the Clips moving on and San Antonio heading to the Bahamas — or wherever it is the team choose to vacation when basketball is out of the picture.
Why They Can Win It
The one downside to offering the NBA world such entertainment in a tightly contest seven-game series is rest. Or more accurately: a lack of rest.
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Just two days after grinding their way out of the first round, the Clippers were back in action against the Houston Rockets in Round 2. Even worse news is that they were without their leader: MVP candidate Chris Paul.
In Game 7 versus the Spurs, Paul endured a hamstring. The narrative of an injured Paul taking over in crunch time was enough to make fans believe they’d just witnessed a career-defining moment for the 29-year-old (soon to be 30-year-old) point guard, but it was also enough to keep the perennial All-Star on the sidelines for Game 1 against the Rockets.
Luckily for the Clippers, it didn’t even matter.
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Considering how shallow this group’s rotation goes, and how putrid its bench has been, you’d think that a major absence like Paul’s would be a postseason death sentence. As it turned out, the team got major contributions from Austin Rivers, and Blake Griffin has been as good as anybody throughout these playoffs.
During the regular season, Los Angeles finished first in terms of offensive efficiency. Defensively, they were as middle-of-the-pack as it gets (15th), but a much-improved defensive presence from DeAndre Jordan helped prepare not just the big man, but the team as a whole for what it will see deep into the postseason.
How They Can Win It
For starters, the Clippers need to get Chris Paul back. The Game 1 win was huge for the confidence of this roster, but one game versus and entire series is a very different concept.
If Paul comes back healthy — or even just comes back and sees minutes — this group should prove to be more well-rounded than the Rockets team it’s currently facing. James Harden and Dwight Howard provide a one-two punch that won’t be matched around most of the league, but the Clips have the edge in this series.
Then comes the big test. Getting past the Rockets will be an impressive feat — getting past the Golden State Warriors will shock the world.
Golden State is currently listed as the team with the best odds to win the championship. L.A. is fifth. But if there’s one team out West that can upset the favorites, it’s Los Angeles.
In order to take down the Warriors, L.A. must contain Stephen Curry. It’s a task easier said than done, but it must be a primary objective of the defense if it stands a chance to advance.
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Furthermore, the Clippers need to be on their game offensively. Even if Los Angeles plays its best defense of the season, we can still expect Golden State to average better than 100 points, meaning efficiency on offense will be crucial.
The Clips will have to steal one on the road in a series versus the Warriors, which is no easy task. But if it can happen in the first two games of the series, the odds will increasingly grow in their favor to move on to the Finals.
Once in the championship, it will likely be either the Chicago Bulls or the Cleveland Cavaliers matching up on the other side. In one, you get Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler running the offense, and with the other, you’ve got LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.
It’s pick your poison at that point, but the duo of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin is good enough to hang with anyone — when healthy.
Check out our Updated NBA Betting Odds.
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