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LA Clippers (0-0) at Utah (0-0)
- When: Oct 22 2025, 9:00 PM
- Where: Delta Center, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- TV: KJZZ – Salt Lake City, Utah
LA Clippers vs Utah Preview & Prediction
Spread: LA Clippers -10.0
Moneyline: LA Clippers (-485)
Total: 226.5
Los Angeles Clippers Outlook
The Clippers enter this season with all the subtlety of a midlife crisis in Beverly Hills, older, richer, and loaded with expectations. With an average age north of 33, Los Angeles isn’t building for tomorrow, this is the “win right now or retire trying” phase. Coach Tyronn Lue has a star-stacked roster featuring Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, and newly acquired veterans Bradley Beal and Chris Paul. Throw in Brook Lopez, Ivica Zubac, and Bogdan Bogdanovic, and this team has more firepower than a Marvel sequel.
Lue admits it’ll take 15 to 20 games for this new mix of egos and All-Stars to fully gel, but the Clippers’ ceiling is as high as any team in the West. Leonard is reportedly healthy and ready to play more than a part-time schedule, while Harden is still one of the league’s best floor generals after averaging nearly nine assists per game last season.
Los Angeles closed last season red hot, winning 18 of their final 21 games before bowing out to Denver in the playoffs. They’re back to prove they can actually finish the job. Expect the Clippers’ depth and veteran poise to overwhelm younger teams like Utah early in the season.
Player Prop Pick – Kawhi Leonard Over 24.5 Points – A fully healthy Kawhi usually means efficient, dominant basketball. Against a young Jazz defense, he should find his spots with ease and lead the scoring charge.
Utah Jazz Outlook
Meanwhile, in Salt Lake City, the Jazz are the complete opposite of the Clippers, young, rebuilding, and probably still trying to remember where they parked the bus. Utah’s average age barely cracks 25, and this season is all about development and discovery. Head coach Will Hardy and team president Austin Ainge have made it clear: the Jazz are rebuilding from within.
Returning All-Star Lauri Markkanen anchors the team, joined by promising rookie Ace Bailey, the No. 5 overall pick who already looks like a long-term cornerstone. Veterans Kevin Love, Jusuf Nurkic, and Georges Niang add experience to the locker room, but most of the attention will be on youngsters like Walker Kessler, Keyonte George, Taylor Hendricks, and Isaiah Collier.
The Jazz will take their lumps early, but Hardy’s approach, giving his young core real minutes should accelerate growth. The challenge? Doing that while avoiding 30-point blowouts against teams like the Clippers.
Player Prop Pick – Lauri Markkanen Over 7.5 Rebounds – Markkanen’s size and aggressiveness make him the best bet to fill the stat sheet, especially since Utah’s younger players tend to leave rebounding duties to the grown-ups.
NBA Expert Prediction & Betting Angle
This matchup screams “experience vs enthusiasm.” The Clippers’ veteran lineup and star power should have no problem controlling tempo and punishing Utah’s defensive lapses. The Jazz will show flashes of potential, but the talent gap is too wide right now.
Final Score: Clippers 121, Jazz 107
Lean: LA Clippers -10.0
Total: Over 226.5
- NBA Basketball Odds source: MyBookie Sportsbook
- Get real-time live scores & latest betting odds here!
