NBA Free Picks and Odds: Los Angeles Clippers @ New Orleans Hornets Expert Predictions and Preview – NBA Betting 2/23/11: NBA Dunk Champion Blake Griffin will lead the Los Angeles Clippers on the road to the New Orleans Arena to take on point guard Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday night at 9:30 PM ET on ESPN. The Clippers enter the game off a loss and at 21-36 are 4th in the Pacific but with Griffin’s high flying power dunking game they have become an exciting team to watch. The Hornets come into the contest on a 3 game losing streak and have dropped 8 of their last 10 to place them at 33-25 – good for 3rd in the Southwest. The Hornets are tied for 6th seed in the Western Conference but only 2 games ahead of 9th place and out of the playoffs so they need to get the ship righted.
“It’s really tough,” said guard Chris Paul. “The only good thing is we’ve got a lot of basketball left to play.” “If guys want to keep their jobs, they’re going to have to learn how to play in tough times like this.” — Coach Monty Williams on the Hornets’ recent struggles, individually and collectively. The odds makers at BetUs Sportsbook have the New Orleans Hornets a -6 1/2 point favorite at home against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Hornets are coming off a 103-96 defeat on the road to the Portland Trail Blazers to move to 27-29-2 ATS for the season. Power forward David West led the Hornets in scoring with 27 points and 5 rebounds while shooting guard Willie Green added 24 points with 6 boards. Forward Trevor Ariza played well chipping in with 16 points pulling down 9 boards and dishing 6 assists. CP3 had just 8 points and 5 assists in 42 minutes and has not been himself lately but Jarrett Jack came off the bench to add 12 points 5 boards and 3 assists. New Orleans is 5-0 SU in their last 5 games when playing at home against LA Clippers. Vegas odds makers have the New Orleans Hornets +5000 to win the 2011 NBA Finals.
The Clippers are coming off a 111-88 defeat on the road to the Oklahoma City Thunder moving them to a respectable (especially considering their overall record) 28-28-1 ATS for the season. Griffin led the Clips with 28 points and pulled down 11 rebounds while dishing 8 dimes. The total has gone OVER in 9 of the LA Clippers last 10 games when playing on the road against New Orleans. Vegas odds makers have the over/under for the total score at 190 1/2 points combined of the Los Angeles Clippers and New Orleans Hornets.
MATCHUP: L.A. Clippers (21-36) at New Orleans (33-25)
GAME TIME: 9:35 PM EST
TELEVISION: ESPN
Recent Clippers and Hornets Betting Odds Trends:
New Orleans: NO are 1-10 ATS in their last 11 games overall.
Over is 7-1 in NO last 8 vs. NBA Pacific.
Under is 14-6 in NO last 20 home games.
Head to Head: Over is 9-1 in the last 10 meetings in New Orleans.
Favorite is 10-3 ATS in the last 13 meetings.
Vegas Betting Odds:
Favorite: New Orleans -7 Total: O/U 190.5(Morning Lines at Ceasars Palace in Las Vegas)
NSAwins Blog Writer Rich Fritz’s LA Clippers @ New Orleans Hornets Free NBA Picks 2/23: Play LA Clippers +7
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