The Phoenix Suns can advance to the next round of the Western Conference playoffs by defeating the Los Angeles Clippers in Tuesday's Game 5. Read on for our Clippers vs. Suns prediction based on the best NBA odds.
With a 3-1 series lead, the Suns have a chance to finish off an opening-round series victory by winning Game 5 at home against the Clippers. Kawhi Leonard is once again sidelined for Tuesday's tilt, meaning the Clippers are considered double-digit underdogs against the Suns.
Since the spread is so lopsided, our preference is to make a player prop bet for this showdown. And who better to bet on caring about this game than Clippers point guard Russell Westbrook.
Here is our best Clippers vs. Suns prediction (odds via DraftKings Sportsbook; pick confidence based on a 1-to-5-star scale).
Clippers vs. Suns prediction
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I don't know how motivated the Suns will be for four quarters, knowing they are just one win away from advancing to the next round and the Clippers are shorthanded. That makes it difficult to count on Phoenix covering as a double-digit favorite or figure out the best prop angle for the home team.
But I do know that Russell Westbrook is going to leave it all out on the floor in what will likely be his final game of the season. Westbrook is coming off a 37-point performance, in which he shot 17-for-29 from the floor and 3-of-6 from deep. He did all this without going to the free-throw line a single time.
Westbrook finished with only four assists in Game 4, but the usage was there. According to Cleaning the Glass, Westbrook led all players with a 34.4% usage rating. Devin Booker was second at 27.8%. I'm expecting Westbrook to do a better job of facilitating this time around, similar to when he had 12 assists in Game 3.
In 21 games since joining the Clippers, Westbrook is averaging 7.6 assists per contest. In five games without Leonard, Westbrook has averaged nine dimes per game with his last outing being the lone time he failed to cover this number. In fact, Westbrook has recorded double-digit dimes in three of the five matchups without Leonard.
NumberFire projects 8.3 assists, so projections are certainly not on our side. That's why this is only a three-star bet. But we expect the ball to be in Westbrook's hands for 40-plus minutes and are comfortable taking a chance on the Over at this price.
Clippers vs. Suns best odds
| DraftKings | FanDuel | BetMGM | Caesars | PointsBet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Over 8.5 | Over 8.5 | Over 8.5 | Over 8.5 | Over 8.5 |
| -115 | -115 | -130 | -128 | -115 |
Three of our five best sports betting sites have set this line at 8.5 with the Over juiced to -115. We opted to play this at DraftKings, but feel free to make this wager at FanDuel or PointsBet instead. This is playable at anything -125 or better.
If you are looking for a different angle, I considered betting the Under on Westbrook's points prop instead to bank on some scoring regression. As of this writing, the Under on 25.5 total points is priced at -115 at BetMGM.
Clippers vs. Suns odds
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Clippers vs. Suns odds analysis
The Suns started as 11.5-point favorites, and the line has since only jumped up to 12.5 at our best NBA betting sites. The total has been bumped up to 224.5 after openi ng at 224 earlier in the week at the best sportsbooks.
Clippers vs. Suns game info
- Date: Tuesday, April 25, 10 p.m. ET
- TV: TNT
- Location: Footprint Center, Phoenix, AZ
Clippers-Suns pick made 04/25/2023 at 2:35 p.m. ET.
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