Tuesday night features an intriguing Western Conference matchup between young, exciting teams as the Clippers host the upset-minded Kings at 10:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV.
After a gritty comeback win in Houston last week, Los Angeles dropped a 115-112 heartbreaker at Memphis on Saturday. Austin Rivers poured in 38 points and shot 5 for 8 from 3-point range in a losing cause. Lou Williams added 36 for the Clips.
Sacramento, the league's lowest-scoring team at 96.6 points per game, last played Saturday in a 108-99 loss to San Antonio. The Kings couldn't slow down LaMarcus Aldridge, who scored 29 points and hauled in 10 rebounds for the triumphant Spurs.
Los Angeles is 7-1-1 against the spread in its past nine games while Sacramento is 6-1-1 in its past eight following a straight-up loss.
The Clippers opened as six-point favorites and now are laying five. The over/under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, has risen a half-point to 205.
Before picking either side, you need to see what the SportsLine Projection Model has come up with. This model would have won 96 percent of CBS Sports NFL office pools last season and has put together a blistering 46-22 run (68 percent) on its top-rated point-spread picks this season, returning nearly $2,200 to $100 players.
Now, the model has examined every matchup, every player and every trend for Kings-Clippers and locked in against-the-spread and over/under picks.
We can tell you the under 205 hits in 56 percent of simulations. The model has an even stronger pick on the side.
L.A. sits in 10th place in the conference, 3.5 games back of the final playoff spot. The Clippers are averaging 104.5 points while giving up 106.3 per game.
Though 13-19 overall, the Clippers are a decent 7-7 at Staples Center.
With Blake Griffin (knee) out for another month, Williams has picked up the slack, averaging 20.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists.
Rivers, averaging 16.2 points, is L.A.'s most potent long-distance threat at a solid 41 percent. Big man DeAndre Jordan is the team's toughest defender. In addition to 11.0 points and 1.1 blocks, he hauls in an NBA-best 15.3 rebounds. He's also second in the league in field-goal percentage at 64.9 percent.
The Kings are 11-21 and 6-13 on the road. Sacramento has the worst point differential in the NBA, getting outscored by an average of 8.5 points.
Power forward Zach Randolph leads the Kings in scoring (15.8) and rebounding (7.0). Shooting guard Buddy Hield is second on the team with 12.7 points and adds 1.1 steals. He's also an impressive 45 percent from beyond the arc. Center Willie Cauley-Stein nets 10.8 points and 6.1 rebounds.
Can the Clippers creep closer to .500 and a possible playoff berth with a convincing home victory? Or will the road-weary Kings play the role of Christmas Grinch?
So what side of the Kings-Clippers do you need to be all over? Visit SportsLine now to see the strong point-spread pick for Kings-Clippers, all from the model that has absolutely crushed the NBA, and find out.
