The Los Angeles Clippers, who are 45-21 straight-up at the moment (37-29 against the basketball pointspread) are not going to win the #1 seed in the Western Conference; that has been wrapped up by the crosstown rival Lakers. And even while they have teams chasing them down for their current position, there is not much value in being a higher seed in the West, since there is no home court advantage and not a lot of difference in the teams they will face in the first round.

So BetAnySports customers should understand that the major concern on the part of head coach Doc Rivers might be to keep the roster healthy and find some combinations that can work for them in the upcoming playoffs.

Those combinations will have to be put together without one and maybe two of the team's outstanding reserves, at least for the time being, as the Clips go into battle against the Phoenix Suns in a game that is set to begin at 4:05 PM ET. The site is the Arena on the grounds of the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex near Orlando.

Perhaps it's appropriate to get around to who WON'T be in action for the Clippers in Tuesday's game. Montrezl Harrell has had to leave the bubble because of the death of his grandmother, and the club's attitude has been that he should take as much time as he needs to grieve. Harrell is averaging 18.6 points per game and might just win the league's Sixth Man of the Year award.

He's half of a rather dynamic duo who head up the NBA's most productive bench. Lou Williams (reigning Sixth mMan of the Year) is the other half, and he also had to leave the bubble for a funeral. In his case, it was his grandfather. And he did that, but he made another stop - this one at the Magic City "gentlemen's club" in Atlanta, where he got some wings and, uh, also got a private dance, for which he reportedly tipped very well. He kind of lied about it, and landed himself in a ten-day quarantine. Williams is back with the club, but whether Rivers will make him available on Tuesday, and for how long, is a question.

In the odds at BetAnySports on which we will make our picks, the Clippers are solid favorites in this game:

Los Angeles Clippers -8.5
Phoenix Suns +8.5

Over 230 points -110
Under 230 points -110

The Clippers had an offensive explosion last time out, nailing 25 three-point shots in burying a New Orleans team that wasn't playing Zion Williamson too much. Not that the rookie star would have made much of a difference, because they were 37 points ahead at the end of the third quarter.

Sure, everybody was hot, but this is not the way the Clippers plan to win a championship. They are, in fact, fifth best in the league when it comes to the category of efficiency on defense. And they have been somewhat stingy in their two games. Are they equal to the task against Phoenix?

The Suns have won their first two games in the bubble, keeping themselves alive in the quest for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West.

Phoenix (28-39 SU, 31-35-1 ATS) came into the seeding games knowing that they were longshots, not so much because they couldn't meet the qualifications for a two-game play-in series for the #8 seed (where they would have to be within four games of Memphis or whoever occupies that spot) but because there are a lot of clubs they have to beat out - including Portland, Sacramento, New Orleans and San Antonio.

But it is good experience for the Suns to go through a set of pressure games, because this is a team building something for the future. It is not quite an ensemble yet, however, so they are largely dependent upon Devin Booker for scoring punch. And Booker had quite the experience in the last meeting between these clubs as he was guarded, at least most of the time, by Kawhi Leonard, and wound up shooting just 5-of-19 from the field.

So yes, the Clippers can slow down the Suns' attack, and , well, since the Williams-Harrell duo makes much of its impact on the offensive end, we see results manifesting themselves defensively. So for us, it's UNDER the total of 230 points.

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