LA Clippers versus Denver Nuggets Pick Prediction NBA Pro Basketball Odds Preview 12-25-2012

The 15-13 Denver Nuggets will be on the road on Christmas Night as they face the LA Clippers in an NBA pro basketball game on Tuesday. Tip off time from the Staples Center in Los Angeles is scheduled for 10:30PM Eastern Time with national television coverage provided by ESPN. The current NBA odds from this game will be released on Christmas Eve afternoon. The Sagarin ratings suggest the Clippers a -6 to -6 ½ point home favorite. The two teams went head to head four times last season with the Clippers winning three of the four games. Each team covered the spread twice in the series. Trend: LA Clippers are 8-2 ATS in their past eight games.The Nuggets have played just about two thirds of their games this season on the road. They are 7-12 straight up. They have won four of their past five games as they face the Clippers. Denver comes off the 110-88 home win on Saturday to the Charlotte Bobcats as a -15 ½ point betting favorite. The total came in at under 210 points. On the road the Nuggets give up 103 points a game and score 100. Danilo Gallinari leads the club with 15 points a game but only 39% shooting from the floor. Offseason acquisition Andre Iguodala chips in with 14 points a game with 44% shooting. The Clippers are red hot right now. They have won 13 straight games. The Clippers are not only winning games they are pounding their opponents. LA has double digit wins in five straight games. Their defense has been superb by allowing just 83 points per game over their past eight games. In fairness the schedule has been quite easy with a heavy mix of bad Eastern conference clubs with some downtrodden Western conference clubs in the mix. Blake Griffin leads the Clips with 18 points a game and a 53% shooting percentage. After signing the big contract extension over the summer Griffin still shows the hunger for this game. No Clipper averages more than 33 minutes a game. There has been great work by the Clippers bench to help preserve the legs of the starting lineup for a deep playoff run.