Can the Clippers win the NBA Championship?

As dominant as the Phoenix Suns are remembered to be on their march to the NBA Finals last season, it’s easy to forget how much trouble they had discharging a short-handed L.A. Clippers team in the second round.

Longshot Pick: Clippers to win title (+4900)

After being eliminated in six games without Kawhi Leonard — one of the game’s most dominant forces when he feels like playing — the Clippers’ other top-tier star Paul George told a reporter after being asked how the series would have turned out if his team was at full strength. “We’d be going on. Talk about one of the best players in the league being out, yet we were inches away from getting to the next round.”

‘Ifs’ and ‘buts’ being what they are, this year’s Clippers — left for dead for most of the NBA season — managed to squeeze into the play-in game as the 8th seed and with a win at 7th-seeded Minnesota Tuesday night they can manage their way back into the playoffs, this time perhaps with both George and maybe, just maybe, eventually Leonard joining him.

Leonard had surgery last July on a ruptured ACL, but the timetable for his return could be imminent, according to a report from espn.com: “By all accounts, Leonard has been working hard and looks to be in good shape, but the Clippers will be extra cautious with their franchise star. If they make it out of the play-in tournament, however, and Paul George and Norman Powell also return, Leonard would just need clearance from the medical staff to play again. And that door has been left open.”

Even if he does return, Leonard would need some time to get back into game shape, but with a win tonight over the Timberwolves (a 3-point home favorite), the Clips would secure the 7-seed, avoid Phoenix in round one and have a shot against a young and untested 2-seed Memphis, which, admittedly did sweep all four regular season matchups, the last back on Feb. 8.

The Clippers have closed the season on a tear, winning 6 of 7, including victories over the Suns, Bucks and Jazz.

‍Unfortunately for the Los Angeles team, DimersBOT has predicted the Clippers to fall by a score of 117-113, failing to cover the 3-point spread or the moneyline, against the Timberwolves.

Even if the Clippers do fall tonight, they have one more chance to get in, playing the winner of Wednesday’s 9-10 matchup between Spurs at Pelicans. A win in that elimination game would net the 8th seed and a tough first round matchup with Phoenix, and would surely drive the Clippers odds up even higher, but a mere $10 bet today, Tuesday, would still net a near $500 payout on the +4900 odds available at FanDuel for the Clippers to win the NBA Championship.

DimersBOT has the Clippers at 3.8% — true odds of +2700 — to win it all, so there is value in this bet, regardless of whether they end up winning the Chip.

If you’re looking for a small NBA futures bet longshot, the L.A. Clippers are definitely the team that presents the most value right now