The Case for the Over

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They won 44 games last year and that’s with Paul George only playing 56 games and Kawhi Leonard only playing 52. If they get better health than that, they could blow past this win total. It’s unclear how much effect the league’s new Player Participation Program will have on getting stars to play more games, but it’s possible that it causes the Clippers’ stars to play more. There also is reportedly going to be more focus on the regular season, based on messaging from head coach Ty Lue and others within the organization. 
 

Russell Westbrook was a much better fit for them than John Wall and Reggie Jackson were, so having a full season with him should be a positive. 
 

Overall, this team is simply more talented than their over-under line suggests.  

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The Case for the Under

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Can we really expect Leonard and George to play more than the 108 combined games they did last year? It’s possible, but seems unlikely based on how things have gone over recent years.
 

They are an older team, as almost everyone in the rotation is in their 30’s. There’s not really anyone that’s a candidate for a breakout year. Almost everyone in the rotation, outside of Terance Mann, is more likely to regress than improve. Guys like Marcus Morris, Robert Covington and Nic Batum have already shown signs of regression. 
 

Even though they won 44 games last year, they only had the point differential of a 40-win team, so they do have to be significantly better than they were last year. 

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Conclusion

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This team can still be a title contender when healthy – that’s how good Kawhi Leonard is, and there is enough talent around them. They also have a really good coach in Ty Lue. However, it might just be a fool’s errand to believe in them, especially during the regular season given the age of the roster and the injury history. That makes me lean toward the under.