After losing Paul George in free agency to the Philadelphia 76ers and missing Kawhi Leonard for the entire season so far, the LA Clippers have no business being good. But the Clippers are hanging on in a competitive Western Conference, sitting at 17-13 and tied with both the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers for the fifth seed. LA may be struggling to sell out the brand new Intuit Dome, but it will be a tough out in the first round of the playoffs come April.
The Clippers have benefited massively from Most Improved Player-level play from veteran shooting guard Norman Powell. An afterthought on Leonard’s 2018-19 Toronto Raptors championship team, Powell has finished fourth in Sixth Man of the Year voting in each of the past two years before stepping into the starting lineup and playing the best basketball of his career. The 10th-year UCLA product is averaging 24.1 points per game and shooting 47.3% from deep, the fourth-best among 220 players hoisting at least three three-point attempts per game.
LA will host the shorthanded Golden State Warriors tonight at 10 p.m. ET. Warriors superstar Stephen Curry has already been ruled out and forward Draymond Green is questionable with a lower back contusion. Golden State, like the Clippers, is currently in the West’s play-in picture.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, LA is a 4.5-point favorite and the point total is set to 212, but both of those numbers might change if Green eventually gets ruled out. Below, I’ve highlighted my favorite prop bet centered around Powell.
Best Norman Powell Prop Bet on DraftKings Sportsbook
Norman Powell 25+ Points (+110)
The Warriors’ season so far can be split roughly into two halves. Golden State won 12 of its first 15 games behind a versatile 12-man rotation and some sensational Curry shooting. However, since a 104-94 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on on November 23, it has been slumping badly, losing 11 of its last 14 games. Trading for point guard Dennis Schroder wasn’t the answer; since his debut, the Warriors have lost three of its four games, including a 51-point demolition job at the hands of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Over that span, Golden State has allowed 114.9 points per 100 possessions, the 10th-worst rate in the NBA. During their skid, the Warriors have struggled to prevent teams from racking up assists, forced very few turnovers, and been blocked a lot. While individually Curry is merely a league-average defender, his familiarity with Steve Kerr’s switch-heavy scheme means that his absence tonight will probably have a negative impact on Golden State’s ability to slow Powell down.
Although he was often a streaky shooter in the early parts of his career, Powell is in the middle of an incredible hot streak. He’s scored 29 points in three of his last four games and dropped 28 in the other, draining 4.0 three-pointers per game across that span and posting blistering 52-47-86 shooting splits. Overall, he has dropped at least 25 points in six of his last eight contests.
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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook, lines and odds subject to change.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skills and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
