NBA Betting: What to Make of the Clippers Playoff Hopes Amid Late Season Skid

Things have been coming apart for the Clippers of late. They are 9-9 over their last eighteen games and have lost four of their last six. The team has been able to keep their stars healthy, but still trail the West-leading Thunder by 5 games. The skid has thrown their playoff expectations into question, making betting sites question if they are truly title-contenders.

Below, we will explore LA’s latest odds to win an NBA Championship, what’s leading to their current cold streak, and what USA Legal Betting experts expect from them going forward.

Bookmakers still believe in this Clippers team, despite their recent struggles. Most have them as the third favorite to win the 2024 NBA Championship, trailing the Celtics and Nuggets.  

Below are the latest odds from three of our favorite sportsbooks. 

The biggest red flag from the Clippers’ recent skid is their struggles at home. Over the last two weeks, they have lost home games to the Bucks, T-Wolves, and Hawks. Losing to the Bucks is understandable, but dropping home games to a short-handed T-Wolves and bad Hawks teams is a problem.

LA’s offense has been the problem during their recent losses, being held to under 105 points in four of their previous five defeats. While struggling against strong defenses like New Orleans and Minnesota are understandable, doing so against Atlanta (121.2 OPPG) and Milwaukee (117.3 OPPG) is not.

While the Clippers trio of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, and James Harden can generate a ton of offense, the rest of the team has not. Norman Powell has provided some solid scoring off the bench, but the rest of the roster has not. Some of that can be attributed to the absence of Russell Westbrook, but their depth is still a major concern ahead of the playoffs.

While it is tempting to look ahead to the playoffs, the Clippers need to get some wins quickly. They are currently fourth in the West but are several games behind the top three. New Orleans is just a game behind them, while the Kings, Mavericks, and Suns are three back. Those are a ton of great teams, meaning the Clippers could find themselves in danger of falling into the play-in tournament.

Even if they can remain in the top six, the Clippers need to improve their seeding. If the remain in the fourth of fifth spot, they’ll likely face the Pelicans in the first round. They are 1-3 against New Orleans this season, failing to score more than 106 in all three losses.

The biggest question mark for the Clippers’ future is Leonard. The oft-injured star has been able to stay healthy this season, appearing in 61+ games for the first time since the 2016-17 season. We know what he is capable of when healthy, especially in the playoffs. However, we also know another injury could be looming. This team won’t advance far without Leonard, making him the most important player to watch.

LA is a great team when healthy, but we don’t think they stack up well against the likes of the Nuggets, Thunder, and the Pelicans. They are a combined 3-7 against those teams, signaling that there is a sizeable gap between them. While bookmakers still believe in this team, our experts are selling on them heading into the final few weeks of the season.