ScoresandStats.com Latest Sports Previews

The Clippers hit Washington in the middle of their best stretch of the season, and the market is still catching up. They’ve won five straight and 12 of 14 because the pace is up, the defense is locked in, and they’re getting real minutes from younger pieces instead of hoping the stars carry every possession. The wrinkle today is availability. Kawhi Leonard is out and went back to Los Angeles to rest his knee contusion, so the offense runs through James Harden and a committee of shooters, cutters, and defenders who have actually held up lately. For Washington, the development minutes keep coming, and that is great long-term, but it can be brutal when you’re trying to cover numbers late.

The Knicks get their annual MLK Day home showcase at Madison Square Garden, but they’re bringing frustration into it. New York’s slide has been ugly, and the offense has looked especially shaky late in games without a steady closer. Dallas arrives with some momentum after handling Utah in a two-game set, and Klay Thompson’s recent shotmaking has changed the feel of their half-court possessions. The biggest variables are the status of Cooper Flagg for Dallas and Jalen Brunson for New York. If either sits, the handicap changes fast, and the market is already reflecting that uncertainty with a big Knicks number. From a betting perspective, +10 is a lot in a game where New York’s recent form hasn’t justified separation,

Philadelphia hits this game at the midpoint of the season still trying to stabilize its half-court offense, but the talent edge is obvious when Joel Embiid is on the floor and the Sixers are organized. Indiana, meanwhile, is coming off a throwaway “bench game” in Detroit, and the handicap is figuring out how much of that was schedule management versus a warning sign about depth and shot quality. This one tips Monday night at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The Sixers are laying a big number, and it’s not hard to see why: Indiana’s last outing was a 43-point loss, and Philly is typically at its best when it can slow the game down, get to the line, and force

Phoenix closes in on the midpoint of a long road trip and could finally get a major lineup boost in Brooklyn. Jalen Green is listed as questionable as he works back from a right hamstring issue, and his potential return matters because it gives the Suns another true downhill creator to complement their half-court spacing. Brooklyn is on the second night of a back-to-back after a rough defensive effort in Chicago, and that’s the handicap right away. Legs, closeouts, and transition defense are the first things to go when you travel overnight, especially for a team that’s already been bleeding open threes. Devin Booker is also questionable, so the market is balancing two big availability tags at once. If Booker