Clippers vs. Warriors odds, props, predictions: Kawhi Leonard out for Clips against red-hot Golden State

Clippers vs. Warriors odds, props, predictions: Kawhi Leonard out for Clips against red-hot Golden State

At various points over the season’s first few months, both the Clippers and Warriors have been written off. It’s foolish, barring a season-ending injury to a star player, to say any team is done within 50 games. These teams have proven that.

With the Clippers headed to the All-Star break following this contest and Golden State on hiatus after Thursday’s matchup at Utah, the opportunity to finish a wild roller coaster ride prior to the break in excellent fashion exists for both.

Golden State has won seven of eight to rescue its fading hopes and move into 10th in the West, safely in the play-in if the postseason began today.

LA has won 10 of 13 and is an NBA-best 27-7 since Dec.1. The Clips look to extend their Pacific Division lead over Phoenix with one last win, but will have to pull it off without All-Star forward Kawhi Leonard, who has been ruled out due to an adductor strain.

Handicapping Clippers vs. Suns betting odds, props, and predictions forces you to project how LA will fare without Leonard, who has only missed four games, already playing nearly as many games as he has in each of the last four seasons, one of which he missed entirely.

Leonard missed four games over a week-plus in late December, but has played in every game in 2024 until Wednesday’s contest. The Clippers (35-17, 27-25) went 2-2 in those games.

Clippers vs. Warriors odds: Point spread, moneyline, total

Here are the latest NBA betting odds for Los Angeles vs. Golden State:

LA has won the last two meetings, both of which came in December. Leonard has played in every game, averaging 23.3 points and 7.7 rebounds.

James Harden finished with 28 points and 15 assists in the most recent meeting, a 121-113 Clippers win on Dec. 14 that Draymond Green missed due to suspension. Curry hasn’t played poorly, but has scored below his season average of 28 points per game all three times.

More NBA wagering: Best NBA betting sites | Latest NBA betting promos and bonuses

Clippers betting news: Leonard’s absence means Lue has choice to make

Amir Coffey replaced Leonard in the starting lineup when he missed his four games in late December and is likely to be his replacement again since he’s been Tyronn Lue’s top forward off the bench for some time now.

The Clippers head coach isn’t going to go big with Mason Plumlee or Daniel Theis joining Ivica Zubac in the starting lineup against Golden State, but he could go small with either Russell Westbrook or Norman Powell joining the fray.

What he does remains to be seen, but the expectation here is that we’ll see Coffey in the first five. The fifth-year former undrafted free agent has scored in double figures in three of four games but has just two rebounds within that span.

Regardless of who starts, Westbrook and Powell will have to step their games up to help make up for Leonard’s absence. We may see James Harden call his own number more after deferring for most of the past few months as the key to unlocking everyone else’s talents and helping the Clips blossom into a top Western Conference contender.

Harden has scored 30 points only once this calendar year in a 149-144 win in Atlanta on Feb. 5, but since this Leonard absence is likely to only be temporary with the All-Star break looming, there are a number of ways to go about replacing his production. Harden has hit 52 percent of his 3-point attempts against the Warriors this season, averaging four per game while averaging 22.3 points and 10.3 assists.

George has shot a solid 38.9 percent from 3-point range against Golden State, averaging 20 points and eight assists. Make no mistake, the Clippers can beat the Warriors in a one-off situation since Harden and George do play so well against the Dubs, but not having Leonard makes it a far more difficult chore.

Warriors betting news: Kerr back in coaching box after one-game absence

The Warriors (26-25 SU, 27-23-1 ATS) are back above .500 for the first time since Dec. 23 and looking to go two games over for the first time since way back in November. They’ve matched a season-best with five straight wins, something they’ve done twice this season, and have covered each time.

Looking for No. 6 on Valentine’s Day, Golden State will be playing the Clippers for the fourth and final time this regular season.

Steve Kerr was credited with his 499th career win the other night in Golden State’s 129-107 rout in Utah despite being across the globe attending the funeral of former assistant Dejan Milojevic in Serbia. He’ll seek out win No. 500 against the Clips to even a season series in which the home team has won every game.

Golden State has covered the spread in its last seven victories, and although he’s been great all season, Stephen Curry has turned the clock back some with his performances during this run, which has seen him score 30 or more points in six of his last 10 games, averaging 30.7 points in February.

Curry has made 6.6 3-pointers per game this month, shooting 48.4 percent from 3-point range. By contrast, he’s averaged just 21.7 points while shooting 32.3 percent from beyond the arc against the Clippers.

Draymond Green’s return from suspension has helped unlock Curry and all of the other Warriors during this resurgence, while Jonathan Kuminga’s improvement and Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins looking more like their old selves have helped the Warriors crawl out of the hole many buried them in.

If Kerr gets a landmark win and Golden State establishes a new season-best winning streak, it will help continue to leave this season’s frustrations in the rear-view and set it up for a strong final push.

Many Warriors have bemoaned the absence of Gary Payton II, who returned in Saturday night’s dramatic win over Phoenix and is 9-for-9 from the field since coming back. His defense is invaluable and competitive spirit contagious, so getting the scoring has been a bonus. Expect to see plenty of Payton on Harden.

Clippers vs. Warriors player prop picks

Harden’s scoring number has been set at , and even though that would seem too high for him over the past few months, Leonard’s absence makes that figure conservative. He’ll still look to pass whenever possible, but will likely be more aggressive in looking to score. Back the OVER on Harden’s points prop.

Terance Mann is likely to see more time on the floor chasing around Curry and Klay Thompson, so it also might not be a bad idea to ride the high side on his scoring total (). Mann has scored more than seven points only once in his past five games and has scored in double-figures once in the past eight contests.

The best Warriors prop available has Draymond Green’s assists number set at , which we also recommend backing the OVER on. He’s been an expert facilitator as a screener and passer since returning from suspension, so look for that to continue at a high volume with Green more likely to avoid foul trouble without having to deal with Leonard.

Clippers vs. Warriors prediction ATS

LA couldn’t handle Minnesota on Monday night despite having Leonard on the floor executing at a high level for more than 30 minutes. Although it was the size of Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert that presented the most problems for the Clippers, it didn’t help that the Timberwolves made 11 3-pointers to their nine and were more of a threat from beyond the arc while locking down on defense.

The same obstacles will be in place in San Francisco since Golden State has been much better on the defensive end lately in addition to being more lethal shooting from deep, which is one reason why the UNDER has prevailed in seven of its last eight contests. Without Leonard, we should see them claw and fight to try and avoid a second consecutive loss, but a Dubs team that has everyone back intact outside of Chris Paul is likely to take advantage. Lay the points.

Pick: Warriors