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Clippers, Spurs Headline Western Conference Battle

Los Angeles Travels to San Antonio in Wednesday NBA Action

A high seed in the Western Conference Finals is up for grabs for the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers.

Both teams are well-positioned in their divisions, especially with Spurs which have a one-game lead in the Southwest.

Patty Mills of the San Antonio Spurs shoots a three-point basket and draws a foul from Solomon Hill of the Atlanta Hawks
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images/AFP

We expect plenty of online betting action for this game and we look at reasons why both teams have a chance of winning on Wednesday.

Trade Deadline Looms For Clippers

The Los Angeles Clippers are shopping for another player to add to the roster, but who will they take?

With a record of 27-16, the Clippers are going along nicely this season. However, many experts believe they need another star recruit to push some of the better teams in the Western Conference.

They are creating cap space as we speak, but they can’t sign another free agent until March 30, as ESPN reports. Losing future second-round picks won’t make a difference on this season, so a potential signing adds to the Clippers’ strength.

Whoever they sign won’t play against San Antonio on Wednesday, but it does create some interest for the second-half of the season.

Spurs Happy To Return Home

It wasn’t the best start to a home stand for the Spurs after losing 100-97 to Charlotte on Monday, but it ended a five-game road trip.

Getting back to AT&T Center, where the Spurs have a 10-10 record should be a help for this team. They scored three consecutive wins on the road, including wins over Chicago and Cleveland.

It wasn’t the strongest level of opposition, but it’s enough to see San Antonio lead the Southwest standings. It’s one game clear of Dallas, and we like San Antonio’s chances of staying at the top.

We want to see more from DeMar DeRozan, who is averaging 20.3 points per game. We expected it from the former All-Star, but he has time to improve on his averages.

He is shooting at just under 50%, which means he’s not putting up as many shots as he could. An aggressive DeRozan is what we want to see, so look for Coach Popovich to ride the point guard in the second-half of the season.

Spurs Already Beat Los Angeles

It was January when the Clippers and Spurs last met, with the Spurs coming out ahead 116-113.

Patty Mills led the Spurs with 27 points and it was enough to hold off Kawhi Leonard and his 30-point effort.

Despite giving up 40 points in the third quarter and scoring only 22, San Antonio fought back in the fourth to hold off the fast-finishing Clippers.

Both teams shot at a good level, but the win came in Los Angeles, so that will give the Spurs plenty of momentum heading into the game on Wednesday.

It was the bench that came up trumps for San Antonio, scoring 57 points. It was only a four-man bench consisting of Patty Mills, Rudy Gay, Devin Vassell and Jakob Poeltl, but it did the job.

The win did come without Paul George for the Clippers, so that’s worth noting.

Clippers vs Spurs Game Pick

We think the Clippers will have a more successful season in 2021, but San Antonio is our pick for Wednesday’s game.

The Spurs, despite losing their last two games to Charlotte and Milwaukee, are good enough to beat a team like the Clippers.

Los Angeles isn’t firing on all cylinders and it hasn’t been able to produce much consistency all season.

Having both Serge Ibaka and Patrick Beverley on the sidelines isn’t helping their defense, which was exposed by Atlanta on Monday.

Take the Spurs to win a close game and bettors get value odds at our online sportsbook.

Pick: Spurs 120, Clippers 116

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