These sides are better than their respective last efforts which should reflect tonight. For the Clips, all hands should be on deck, as they were in Tuesday's unsightly home loss to the Lakers; at near-full strength in recent weeks (specifically with Kawhi Leonard in the mix) the results had been generally better. The Clips were down 49-29 after the 1st Q on Tuesday and never had a look at the game, shooting 38% in the process. As for Indiana, a four-game win streak was snapped emphatically by the resurgent Blazers as the Pacers missed 19 of 24 triples. Mind, the Pacers had been scoring at a near 129 pg clip in their four wins preceding the listless effort at Moda Center. Play Pacers-Clippers Over

The Indiana Pacers will play their third game in four nights on their current road trip. They will face a Clippers team that struggled their last outing against the LA Lakers from a defensive stand point. Siakam on the year ranks 24th in the NBA in field goal percentage, and I expect him to correct a recent three game one for 10 stretch beyond the arc. Take Siakam’s over.

James Harden averaged 10 assists in January, but has failed to hit that benchmark in both February games. The first was played without leading scorer Norman Powell, and the second turned into a blowout early, limiting Harden's minutes. Powell is back in the lineup, and the Pacers give up the ninth-most assists to opposing point guards. With Powell and Kawhi Leonard playing alongside him, Harden has averaged 10.8 assists in 11 games, recording 10-plus assists eight times.

James Harden has recorded at least 10 assists in eight of his last 12 games. In two of the games that he didn’t during that span, he just missed with nine assists each. The Clippers have a clean injury report heading into this matchup, so Kawhi Leonard, Norman Powell and Ivica Zubac should all be at Harden’s disposal. The Pacers have played at the sixth-fastest pace in the league, which should leave Harden with even more opportunities to rack up assists.

Third road game in four nights for Indiana, which was lucky to win Monday at Utah and got clobbered on Tuesday in Portland. Maybe the Pacers also are looking ahead to the Luka Doncic Lakers game on national TV on Saturday? The Clippers returned from a long road trip and looked wretched last time out against the Lakers, but I will chalk that up to a one-off. Have to be careful pre-betting on NBA Trade Deadline Day, but I don't see either of these clubs doing much if anything Thursday. It appears "The Wall" at the new Intuit Dome is working as opponents are shooting 74.7 FT% there, the second-lowest FT% for road teams in an NBA arena this season.