Man vs Machine: NBA Day 45

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Sometimes Man and Machine can agree - but today is not that day! On all three picks we disagree - but who will take the glory? Today the Warriors head to Toronto to take on the Raptors, the Kings host the Clippers and the Pacers take on LeBron's Lakers in LA. Let's go!

Golden State @ Toronto

The still depleted Golden State Warriors head to Canada to take on the fit and firing Toronto Raptors, who are cruising through the Eastern Conference whilst the Warriors try to stay afloat in the West.

Steph Curry and Draymond Green are still sidelined (alongside DeMarcus Cousins), and are relying on hot shooting nights from Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson to get them wins. Can they get another tonight?

Key Stats and Trends: all the numbers for the Warriors go out the window with Curry sidelined, so the question comes down to whether you buy what the Raptors are selling with a nine point spread to cover.

At home this season, Toronto is ranked 2nd in Offensive Rating (116.4 points per 100 possessions), and 5th in Net Rating (+8.8 per 100). The Warriors are just 2-7 ATS on the road this season, I think that becomes 2-8. Take the Raps.

Key Play: Toronto -9

LA Clippers @ Sacramento

Two of the NBA's most surprising teams go head to head, as the Clippers travel to Sacramento to take on the Kings. Sacramento has dropped 4 of their last 6 but still sit at .500 on 10-10, and have been tough to beat at home.

The Clippers have won 8 of their last 9 and are coming off an impressive win in Portland, so will fancy themselves on the road.

Key Stats and Trends: the Clippers are 5-5 on the road, and are 5-5 ATS in those games. Their offense is ranked 2nd in the NBA in that time (112.8 per 100), their defense is 21st (111.4 per 100) and their Net Rating is 7th (+1.4).

Sacramento is 5-4 at home this season, but is 6-2-1 ATS in those games. However, their offense is ranked 30th (102.3 per 100), defense 10th (104.7 per 100) and Net Rating is 21st (-2.4 per 100). Form and stats point to the Clips, and the line is small enough for me to take it with confidence.

Key Play: Clippers -2.5

Indiana @ LA Lakers

Indiana's West Coast road trip continues with a trip to the Lakers Kingdom to take on LeBron James and his cast of misfit toys. Victor Oladipo is likely to miss with an ongoing knee problem, and his status really affects the confidence I have in my pick for today.

The Lakers are 11-9 looking to bounce back from two straight losses (and bad ones at that), whilst the Pacers are a very impressive 13-8 coming off two great wins in Utah and Phoenix with Oladipo sidelined. They'll fancy themselves to make it three in a row here.

Key Stats and Trends: Indiana has been a great road team this season, 7-4 so far this season including 5-5-1 ATS. They have the 6th ranked offense (111.7 per 100), 13th in defense (108.6 per 100) and 4th in Net Rating (+3.1 per 100).

The Lakers are a respectable 6-4 at home, but just 3-7 ATS in that time. They're middle of the pack across the board, ranked 19th in offense (108.2 per 100), 15th in defense (107.6 per 100) and 19th in Net Rating (+0.6 per 100). The line is a tough one, but Oladipo's absence is the difference here. Let's go Lakers.

Key Play: Lakers -4.5

Week Record: 3-2

(Sacramento +4 - Loss, Portland -4.5 - Loss, Charlotte +4.5 - Win, Boston +2 - Win, Indiana +4 - Win)

Man vs Machine Record: 1-0 (Model has New Orleans -2 vs Boston - Loss)

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