Portland Blazers-LA Clippers: Blake Griffin Out to Prove Clippers Are For Real

The NBA season gets underway for the LA Clippers tonight with the long awaited debut of Blake Griffin as they host the Portland Trail Blazers in the second game of a double header on ESPN. The latest NBA odds posted by BetMania for this game have the Blazers as a very low two point favorite.

The Blazers already tipped the season off with a very convincing win over the Phoenix Suns. The Blazers have already confirmed that as long as they stay healthy they can be a contender in the west. The Clippers want to show that they can play with the big boys too.

Blake Griffin will get plenty of support when he suits up tonight as the rest of the starting lineup will include point guard Baron Davis, shooting guard Eric Gordon, small forward Ryan Gomes and center Chris Kaman.

It’s very early in the season so teams have yet to adjust to back-to back games and the Blazers should have some fatigue. They are still thin in the front court and the outside sharp shooters for the Clippers will be able to stretch the court against the Blazers defense.

The matchup to watch will be Portland All-Star Brandon Roy against Eric Gordon for the Clippers. Gordon will have to shadow Roy all night and keep his scoring down to a minimum. Gordon will get some help from the bench, but will provide an adequate challenge for Roy. With all of the other bigger names on the floor, Gordon may make the ultimate difference in this game.

The Trail Blazers are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games as a favorite and the Clippers are 4-1 ATS in their last five games as a home underdog. The Clippers get an opening season win in front of the home town crowd and get fans excited about the upcoming season.

Clippers (+2.5)

Matt Regaw is a B/R Featured Columnist and the founder of BookieBlitz.com, your one-stop shop for sports articles, previews, and predictions. Feel free to contact Matt at [e-mail]