LA Clippers Capable Without Star

The LA Clippers will try to go up 2-0 in their first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks tonight. The LA Clippers are the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference and won easily 109-97. The Mavericks came into the game favored by 3.5 points. That was due to LA Clippers star Kawhi Leonard being scratched from the starting lineup due to a knee injury.

It’s a similar situation tonight. Dallas enters Game 2 as a 2.5-point favorite over the LA Clippers. Leonard is still listed as questionable for tonight’s game. However, oddsmakers are still pricing this one as if Leonard will be out. The Mavs are in an almost must-win situation. Teams that go down 0-2 in a seven-game playoff series haven’t had much success in coming back to win.

Since 1969, there have been 447 seven-game playoff series that started with a team winning the first two games. Of those 447 series, only 33 times did the team trailing by two games come back to win the series. That’s only 7.4 percent. Interestingly, at least one team has done exactly that in each of the past three playoff seasons.

Golden State did it last year in their series against Sacramento. In 2022, it was the same Dallas Mavericks coming back from two down to beat Phoenix. In 2021, the Bucks came back against the Nets and the LA Clippers actually did it twice. They trailed Dallas and Utah after two games and came back to win both series.

BET THE NBA TONIGHT: USE THE KELLY CRITERION TO MAXIMIZE YOUR BETS

Can LA Clippers Win Without Leonard?

The big question tonight is whether or not the LA Clippers can win without Leonard. They proved that they could on Sunday. James Harden stepped up with 28 points and 8 assists. That has been consistent for the LA Clippers when they play without Leonard.

Leonard has missed 14 games this season and the LA Clippers are 7-7 in those games. Harden has averaged 20.2 points a game without Leonard compared to 16.6 for the season. It’s the same for other members of the LA Clippers. Paul George averages 23 points a game without Leonard. Ivica Zubac scores 14.3 points and averages 10.5 rebounds. Norman Powell adds 15 points a game and Russell Westbrook comes off the bench to add 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 5.4 assists.

Another win for the LA Clippers tonight would give them some breathing room as the series moves to Dallas on Friday night. It would also give Leonard another three days to get ready for his first playoff appearance. That’s if he doesn’t play tonight.

SWJ Sports on a Big 3-Day Run

We’ve mentioned Scott at SWJ Sports a number of times here at the Sports Hub Daily Report. He’s on a nice three-day bender right now. Yesterday, Scott nailed 10 of his 13 picks and took the top spot on the daily leaderboard.

Over the last three days, Scott is 24-13 and has earned profits of $1280. Four of the Top 5 handicappers on the Sports Hub 3-day leaderboard were in yesterday’s Top 5. If you are looking for hot cappers, here they are!

Let’s look at yesterday’s results.

• Big winner: As mentioned, SWJ Sports was our top dog yesterday with a 10-3 record and $755 in profits. The majority of those predictions were MLB picks. Scott is also No. 3 on our 7-day leaderboard. It might be worth checking to see if he has a pick for tonight’s LA Clippers game.
• Jonesin’ for a win: Dan Jones has been a model of consistency lately. Yesterday, he went 3-0 and took home $300. That gives him $400 for the last three days, $840 for the week, and $1178 for the last 30 days. Dan is in the Top 5 in all of those corresponding leaderboards. 
• Ack is back: James Acker was in our Top 5 yesterday and he’s back again after a 3-0 day and $300 more in winnings. James is now up $580 over the last three days.
• Inside info: Sports Hub Insider is a great handicapper account to follow. Tons of industry knowledge and contacts go into putting together consistent winning picks. Yesterday, Sports Hub Insider went 3-1 and earned $254. Over the last three days, this capper is up $792!
• Expert Kuchman: Sports Hub expert Sean Kuchman rounded out yesterday’s Top 5, hitting 3 of his 4 picks and taking home $235 in profits. Sean has been consistently nailing NHL picks. He’s up $300 in NHL picks over the last seven days.

Trades, Moves, Surprises & More

The sports world has been busy and will continue to be. We’ve got NBA and NHL playoffs in progress. The NFL draft begins this Thursday night and there has been plenty of offseason action in other sports.

Let’s look at what’s trending.

• Wilson traded to Denver: Zach Wilson, former first round draft pick of the New York Jets will be traded to the Denver Broncos. Denver gets Wilson and a seventh round pick in this year’s draft, which begins on Thursday. Denver and New York will split Wilson’s $5.5 million salary due this year.
• Lakers fail again: The Los Angeles Lakers did it again. The Lakers opened up a 59-44 halftime lead only to drop Game 2 101-99 on Jamal Murray’s game-winner. The Lakers are down 2-0 as the series heads to LA. 

• Ruff back in Buffalo: Lindy Ruff coached the Buffalo Sabres for 15 seasons from 1997 to 2013. After 61 games in New Jersey this season, Ruff was fired. Buffalo will bring him back for another go next season. Ruff was named the Sabres new head coach yesterday.
• Kawhi questionable: Leonard is still listed as questionable for tonight’s game against Dallas. LA Clippers head coach Ty Lue said Leonard will go through a walkthrough today and will be evaluated again before a decision is made.

LA Clippers Looking for Game 2 Win Tonight

The LA Clippers host Dallas in tonight’s nightcap of NBA playoff games. The NHL gives us four playoff games tonight and the entire 30-team MLB will be in action on this Tuesday night. That all means plenty of betting opportunities for the masses.

Do yourself a favor and check the Sports Hub members area before placing your bets. If you’re not a member yet, click that orange button above and get started. It takes just a few minutes and it’s free. A Sports Hub membership will give you access to the best sports handicappers in the entire industry. Imagine tailing SWJ Sports for the last three days. You’d be up almost $1300!

Anyway, here’s today’s sports schedule.

1. MLB today: It’s a typical MLB Tuesday with 15 games. Boston and Cleveland start it up at 6:10 p.m. Tanner Houck (3-1, 1.35) starts against Ben Lively (0-1, 3.60). The Mets and Giants will close out the night in San Francisco with the first pitch at 9:45 p.m.
2. Game 2s: It’s three Game 2s tonight in the NBA playoffs. All three home teams won Game 1. Minnesota hosts Phoenix. Indiana is at Milwaukee and the Dallas Mavericks will try to even up their series against the LA Clippers.
3. Tuesday on the ice: There are four games on the NHL playoff schedule tonight. Like the NBA, all four of these home teams won their first games of the series. The Capitals-Rangers and Avalanche-Jets games are on ESPN. The Lightning-Panthers and Predators-Canucks games are on ESPN2.

4. South American soccer: The CONMEBOL Liberatordes tournament has six matches today. The tournament features teams in South America. There is some Tier 2 soccer on the schedule and Arsenal does host Chelsea in a Premier League match later today.
5. Mutua Madrid Open Day 2: The Madrid Open continues today with qualifying rounds for both the men and women. The women have also started Round 1 play. Remember, Novak Djokovic will not play in Madrid. On the women’s side, Simona Halep will not play. The tournament concludes on May 5.

Don’t forget to visit our NBA odds and scores page filled with all the numbers you need this NBA playoff season. Also, check the picks database. There are over two dozen picks for tonight’s NBA games – 8 alone on the LA Clippers-Mavs game – and several dozen more across MLB, NHL, and more.