Vegas Play of the Day: Los Angeles Clippers at Houston Rockets

By Case Keefer (contact)

Tuesday, May 12, 2015 | 12:42 p.m.

It feels like I haven’t won a game in the South Point-lined Play of the Day, which started with $10,000 starting bankrolls, since Tom Brady was more often regarded as a four-time champion than a football deflator.

Oh, Super Bowl 49 was a loss too? The comeback needs to start now.

Houston Rockets plus-3 vs. Los Angeles Clippers: $440 to win $400

The only uncompetitive series in the conference semifinal round, the Clippers have utterly dominated the Rockets. Even the one game Los Angeles lost, it still covered.

So it would be no big surprise if the Clippers finished off the Rockets in tonight’s game five. But there’s no reason to pay this high of a premium calling for the series’ conclusion.

Houston won the last contest at the Toyota Center, don’t forget, 115-109 as 7-point favorites. A 10-point line swing in the Clippers’ direction since that game six days ago is preposterous.

It’s not like Houston has lost anyone. The Rockets have their full complement of players. The pair of losses in Los Angeles were horrendous, but not quite as awful as the combined 58-point margin made them look.

Houston suffered a strategy misfire in intentionally fouling DeAndre Jordan repeatedly in the first half of game four. In game three, the typically futile Los Angeles bench exploded behind 25 points from much maligned Austin Rivers.

Neither of those extenuating factors figure to play out again in game five. Even though the Clippers are going to advance out of this round, their lack of depth is a real issue. It’s serious enough to make them a bet-against whenever they’re facing a situation like playing their fifth game in 10 nights.

Standings: Bern (78-69-1, $11,250), Keefer (78-76-2, $10,197), Brewer (69-83-3, $2,275)

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.