Keagan Smith dives into his pick and prediction for the San Antonio Spurs vs. Los Angeles Clippers game on Monday’s NBA slate.

Tonight’s NBA schedule concludes with a West Coast contest as the Los Angeles Clippers host the San Antonio Spurs. With the home team set to operate without superstar Kawhi Leonard, their outlook has taken a dive. That doesn’t mean there’s not value for betting cards though, so let’s take a peek, shall we?

Here’s a Spurs vs. Clippers prediction and pick on DraftKings Sportsbook for Monday’s contest.

Spurs vs. Clippers prediction, preview

San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs still sit second in the Western Conference at 49-18 overall and 11-2 since the All-Star break. They’re fantastic at both ends of the floor, generating the NBA’s fourth-best NETRTG at +7.0 while playing at the 12th-ranked pace.

San Antonio’s offense produces 118.8 PPG with the fifth-best OFFRTG. The unit is one of the league’s most efficient teams from the field with a 47.9% FG%, and its 35.8% 3P% is certainly solid as well. The Spurs are also seventh in AST/TO ratio, largely playing clean ball behind an excellent guard tandem. On the glass, they bring in the third-most rebounds per game (46.5) and fall sixth in REB% as well. Defensively, the 111.8 PPG allowed to opponents are the seventh-fewest as opponents record the fourth-lowest eFG%, too.

The star of the show is Victor Wembanyama with his 24.3 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game, leading the team in all three categories while the blocks mark paces the entire NBA. De’Aaron Fox scores 19.1 PPG with 6.3 assists but has bumped those numbers to 22.3 points and 8.0 dimes over his last four games. Stephon Castle brings 16.6 points and 7.0 assists a night as the other driver of the offense, too. The Spurs are also one of the league’s deepest teams at wing with Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie, Harrison Barnes and Keldon Johnson all scoring double-digit points.

Los Angeles Clippers

Meanwhile, the Clippers continue to put forth their best effort despite a major roster shakeup over a month ago. They’re 34-33 and 7-3 across their last 10 games, recording a +0.9 NETRTG that ranks 17th on the full season and operating at the 28th-ranked pace.

Los Angeles produces 113.4 PPG and concedes 112.6 PPG to opponents. The group has the fourth-best FG% at 48.3% and 10th-ranked 3P% at 36.3%, but its AST/TO ratio of 1.635 falls 26th overall. The Clips are also just 29th in rebounding (40.8/game), though they manage the eighth-most steals (8.9). However, it’s best to look at the macro view since the All-Star break for a better idea of how this current roster fares. Over this span, they’re 10th in NETRTG at +5.6 with the third-best OFFRTG and 18th DEFRTG.

That may not continue tonight, though. The Clippers are without Kawhi Leonard (ankle), who’s producing at an MVP level this season. That leaves trade acquisition Bennedict Mathurin as the leading scorer with 20.1 PPG to complement 6.1 rebounds. Darius Garland also brings 19.0 points and 6.0 assists, and John Collins recently returned to the lineup with 13.7 points and 5.1 boards per contest. Derrick Jones Jr. also contributes 11.0 PPG.

Spurs vs. Clippers pick, best bet

DraftKings Sportsbook lists the Spurs as -8.5 road favorites tonight with -340 odds on the Moneyline. The Clippers are listed at +270 odds on the ML with the game total set at 233.5 combined points.

Usually, it would be fair to take Los Angeles to cover given the team’s track record — it sits 36-31 ATS this season, 21-11 ATS as an underdog, and 7-3 ATS as a dog on its own home floor. The absence of Leonard throws all that out the window. The 34-year-old averages a career-best 28.3 points per game, shooting 50.1% from the field and 37.8% from downtown. His scoring is also complemented by 6.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.0 steals per contest. Clearly, that all-around production will be greatly missed tonight.

The Clippers lost both of their games this season in which both Leonard and James Harden (since traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers) both missed. One came in a 115-102 loss to the Phoenix Suns while the other was a 94-88 L at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Spurs are easily better than both of those rosters and have been very hot over the last couple of months, especially with the NBA’s second-best NETRTG since the break at +11.7. Bettors can comfortably take San Antonio to cover the spread tonight with the Clips’ superstar sidelined.

Top pick: SA Spurs -8.5 (-102)