Take the Favored San Antonio Spurs over the Clippers

BetOnline NBA Basketball Odds: SAN ANTONIO -8, Total 184.5

Here are some of the NBA basketball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* SA has won and covered four of its last six games

* SA has played 11 of its last 15 games OVER the total

* SA has won seven of its last 11 road games SU

* SA is 7-3-1 ATS in its last 11 road games

* SA has played seven of its last 11 road games OVER the total

* LA has lost five of its last seven games SU

* LA has covered two of its last nine games

* LA has played 10 of its last 15 games OVER the total

* LA has covered two of its last seven home games

Also…

* SA has won 18 of the last 19 meetings SU

* LA has covered four of the last six meetings

* SA has won the last five meetings SU as the road team

* SA has covered four of the last five meetings as the road team

* The last six meetings in Los Angeles have gone UNDER the total

* SA has had the shooting edge in seven of the last ten meetings

* SA has had the rebounding edge in six of the last seven meetings

* SA has made more three-pointers in nine of the last ten meetings

The Spurs took it on the chin on Sunday night, losing a 102-84 decision to the Portland Trail Blazers, which spoiled the return of Tim Duncan (who missed three games with an injured quad) to the lineup. Duncan had 14 points and four rebounds, shooting 6-of-15 from the field. Manu Ginobili is out of action, and seven Spurs combined for 34 points off the bench last night.

Portland shot almost 49% on Sunday, but the Spurs had been playing tremendous defense just prior to this. In their five preceding games, San Antonio yielded just 38% to opponents which included playoff teams like Dallas, Detroit, Portland and Cleveland. That defense will come in handy against the Clippers, who shot almost 51% in their 100-95 Saturday loss to the Bobcats but that was an exception to the rule – only the fifth time all year they had hit half their shots or more. Overall, they are last in the NBA for the season at 43.6%.

There is a revolving door in Los Angeles, as injuries have made this an unusual year and yet the same old thing again. The Clippers have had 25 different starting lineups, and while Zach Randolph and Marcus Camby are currently healthy and playing, and Al Thornton has come back to the lineup, Eric Gordon has missed three straight games and Chris Kaman hasn’t seen action for a while. So you get the message – there is no continuity, especially on defense, where Camby can only do so much.

The Clips can’t seem to buy a win at home; they are just 8-22 straight-up and 10-20 against the number. However, without Thornton, this team was able to complete an upset of the Celtics last Wednesday, although it must be noted that the defending champions were without Kevin Garnett and lost Paul Pierce in the third quarter.

It’s tough to proceed without Ginobili’s contributions, but San Antonio, which allows only 94 points a game on the road, should be able to keep the L.A. offense in check. I would not expect, coming off an 18-point loss, that the Spurs will allow themselves to get caught unawares as Boston did in that embarrassing loss at Staples. Let’s also not forget that two pretty proficient three-point artists – Matt Bonner (49%) and Roger Mason (44%) are logging significant playing time for Gregg Popovich’s team. We’re laying the points with San Antonio, the eight-point favorite in the BetOnline NBA pro basketball sports betting odds.

JAY’S PLAY: SAN ANTONIO -8 ***

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