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The Los Angeles Clippers return home to face the Suns on Thursday night after an impressive two-game road trip, which included wins over Golden State and Denver.
Surprisingly, Los Angeles’ defense carried them despite the absence of Kawhi Leonard and the presence of a historically bad defensive player – James Harden – in the starting lineup.
The Clippers have the third-best defensive rating through the first three games of the 2024-25 regular season.
They also rank among the top five defenses in the NBA in points in the paint and second-chance points allowed.
Suns vs. Clippers odds TeamSpreadMoneylineTotalSuns-5 (-110)-195o222.5 (-110)Clippers+5 (-110)+164u222.5 (-110)Odds provided by FanDuel
The only defensive area where Los Angeles has not been elite is defending the 3-point line, where opponents are shooting just over 37% from deep.
The Suns have split their last two games against the Lakers and Mavericks.
They beat Dallas by double digits thanks to Kevin Durant’s efficient 31-point performance.
Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) reacts against the Dallas Mavericks in the second half of their home opener at Footprint Center. Photos by Mark J. Reblas-Imagine
Phoenix’s offense has been firing on all cylinders, as the Suns rank third in true shooting percentage, sixth in effective field goal percentage and seventh in assist percentage.
The Suns’ addition of Tyus Jones at point guard has been a game-changer and could propel them to the top of the ultra-competitive Western Conference.
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When these two teams met on opening night in Phoenix, the Clippers outscored the Suns by 20 points, thanks to 21 points and nine rebounds from Ivica Zubac.
The Suns shot 40% from 3-point range, but narrowly pulled out a 116-113 overtime win due to their lack of size and shooting prowess on the glass.
This should be a factor again in the rematch at the start of the season.
Play: Clippers +5 (-110, FanDuel)
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Andrew Norton tackles the NBA, WNBA, NFL, college basketball, football, UFC and golf. During the 2022-23 NBA season, he generated an outstanding ROI of 14.1%, cashed in 60% of his NBA picks and led Tallysight in the SportsIQ metric.
