The Los Angeles Clippers will face the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday, December 26, 2025, at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, as short favorites despite missing leading rebounder Ivica Zubac. Betting experts highlight opportunities for Portland's Donovan Clingan to dominate the boards and Clippers' Kawhi Leonard to rack up steals against a Blazers team lacking a traditional point guard. Odds list the Clippers as 2-point favorites with a total of 225.5 points.
The matchup tips off at 10:00 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on Prime Video. Los Angeles enters as a -2 spread favorite at -110 odds, with a moneyline of -130, while Portland sits at +2 and +110. The over/under is set at 225.5 points. Projections from numberFire give the Clippers a 55.42% win probability.
Clippers center Ivica Zubac is sidelined, forcing the team to rely on John Collins and Brook Lopez in the frontcourt. This absence plays into the hands of Portland's 7-foot-2 rookie Donovan Clingan, who is averaging 12.0 rebounds over his last 20 games and has grabbed 14 boards in two of his previous three outings. Clingan boasts an elite 17% offensive rebounding rate, and experts predict he will exceed 10.5 rebounds at -135 odds. Portland leads the NBA in second-chance opportunities, while the Clippers rank 27th in overall rebounding.
On defense, the Trail Blazers have struggled without a traditional point guard, allowing a league-high 11.6 steals per game over their past 10 contests. Kawhi Leonard has capitalized on such vulnerabilities, averaging 2.0 steals across his last five games and recording two steals against Portland earlier this season. RotoWire analyst Alex Barutha recommends Leonard over 1.5 steals at -185 odds, noting Portland's turnover-prone play.
A suggested same-game parlay includes Clingan over 10.5 rebounds, the Trail Blazers moneyline, and Brook Lopez over 9.5 points, with Lopez expected to see 20-plus minutes. Portland has hit the fourth-quarter moneyline in 21 of its last 34 home games, adding intrigue to the game's closing stages.
