LA Clippers vs Houston Rockets Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 13/04/2024, 22:12  by Joseph King | Modified on 13/04/2024 at 22:12 in NBA Prediction

The fourth-place LA Clippers and the 11th-place Houston Rockets conclude their 2023/24 regular seasons on Sunday when they face off at the Crtypto.com Arena. Both of these teams have nothing left to play for in terms of the standings, although only one of these two will be advancing to the postseason. The Clippers are locked into the fourth seed as they hold the tiebreaker advantage over the fifth-placed Mavericks who they currently lead by one. The team’s most recent outing resulted in a 110-109 home loss to the Utah Jazz, their second defeat in a row. However, the Clippers big names only played about 5-10 minutes in that loss, while being rested completely in the prior loss to the Suns. Kawhi Leonard’s status for the playoffs still appears to be up in the air, meaning the 32-year-old will certainly not feature on Sunday. Los Angeles is almost guaranteed to rest their regular starters, including Paul George, James Harden and Russell Westbrook. 

The Rockets showed a lot of improvement this season to go from a 22-60 record last year to a record of 40-41 this campaign. Unfortunately for them, they are in the Western Conference. Had they been in the East, Houston would comfortably be in the play-in tournament spots. They’ll attempt to finish the season with a .500 winning percentage which would mark the first time since 2020 that Houston has not had a losing record. The Rockets have been playing their usual starting five despite having been eliminated from play-in tournament contention for the last couple of games. Their last outing resulted in a 116-107 away win over the Trail Blazers which was the second victory in the last three games for Houston. The Rockets have struggled on the road this season compared to their excellent record at the Toyota Center. They’ve compiled a 27-14 home record but are just 13-27 on their travels.