* For Friday matches in the US – Saturday in Australia.
THE weekend kicks off with a cross town rivalry between a guaranteed lottery team in the Brooklyn Nets and a team on the improve in the New York Knicks.
The small ball Phoenix Suns travel to the capital to take on the disappointing Washington Wizards, while two young teams in the Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons clash in the Motor City.
The Kobe Bryant farewell tour makes its next stop in Atlanta where the Los Angeles Lakers take on the tough Hawks while the struggling Houston Rockets battle it out with the Dallas Mavericks in an all Texas tussle.
And Lebron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers cap off Saturday with a trip to New Orleans to take on the pitiful Pelicans and their star Anthony Davis.
Six juicy games on the go offers up plenty of punting options. We’ve had a good hard look in the hopes of finding something juicy for you.
Our friends at sportsbet.com.au tend to offer the widest range of NBA markets on the Australlian punting landscape, so they should be first port of call, especially with their multi bonuses on head to head markets of 15 per cent for four legs, 20 per cent for five legs and 25 per cent for six or more legs, up to a maximum of $200, provided the multi as valued at $4 or more.
Good luck.
Head to head tips
New York Knicks to beat Brooklyn Nets – $1.60 @ Sportsbet.com.au
Washington Wizards to beat Phoenix Suns – $1.89
Detroit Pistons to beat Milwaukee Bucks – $1.37
Atlanta Hawks to beat Los Angeles Lakers – $1.11
Dallas Mavericks to beat Houston Rockets – $1.41
Cleveland Cavaliers to beat New Orleans Pelicans – $1.48
If you throw all those in a six leg multi, it will add a 25 per cent winners bonus with Sportsbet.com.au
Our NBA multi of the day
New York Knicks line -3 – $1.91 @ Sportsbet.com.au
Phoenix Suns line +1 – $1.91
Milwaukee Bucks at Detroit Pistons total game score under 194 – $1.91
Houston Rockets at Dallas Mavericks total game score over 209 – $1.91
Brooklyn Nets at New York Knicks
Bet: New York Knicks win – $1.61
Bet: New York Knicks line -4 – $1.91
This clash between the two New York based teams can throw up the odd outlier, but the Knicks, on the back of some inspired play from rookie Kristaps Porzingas, Look like they are on the cusp of something special. Of course, there have been teething problems, with Wednesday’s 99-87 win over the Philadelphia 76ers arresting a four game slide. Seventeen points and 10 rebounds from the Knicks gun 7-3 rookie was enough to get the job done against the league’s worst team. The Nets, all of a sudden, have started to reanimate their corpse, with two wins on the trot over the Detroit Pistons and then most recently the Phoenix Suns, 94-91, on the back of 23 points and six boards from Brook Lopez. This is the battle of the Lopez brothers, with the Nets’ high scoring centre cornerstone Brook going up against the Knicks new man in the middle, defensive anchor Robin. How the Knicks man goes in stopping his brother from getting what he wants offensively could go a long way to deciding this match. If he can contain Robin, then Porzingas and Anthony should have more than enough fire power to get the job done in this one.
Phoenix Suns at Washington Wizards
Bet: Washington Wizards win $1.89
Bet: Phoenix Suns +1 @ $1.91
The Washington Wizards might be the Jekyll and Hyde team of the NBA (with apologies to the Boston Celtics). One day, they come out and beat the east leading Cleveland Cavaliers. The next, they lose to the disgusting Los Angeles Lakers on their home floor. A 35 point, 10 assist, five steal performance from gun point guard John Wall propelled the Wiz past the Cavaliers, 97-85, but, a night later, they just didn’t turn up. They allowed 31 points for the woeful Kobe Bryant in a 108-104 loss. It wasn’t Wall’s fault. He had another monster with 34 points, 11 assists and seven boards, but only really found support from the Polish Hammer, Marcin Gortat, who had an 18 point, 10 rebound double double. They will be hoping to get more out of young guns Bradley Beal and Otto Porter Jr against the Suns, who have lost six of their last seven games and look all at sea. They’ve been carried by the back court partnership of Brandon Knight (22 points) and Eric Bledsoe (21 and nine dimes), but have been crying out for someone to stand up in the front court. Unheralded Jon Leuer did so against the Pistons with 20 points six boards and five assists, and Mirza Teletovic hit four treys off the bench on the way to 18 points, but it wasn’t enough. Sixteen points up in the fourth quarter, the Suns allowed the unthinkable to happen, terrible free throw shooter Andre Drummond hitting two free throws to send the game into overtime, which the Pistons duly finished off, 127-122. We’re backing the Wizards to bounce back from their horrible effort against the Lakers and get the W over the Suns – but only just.
Milwaukee Bucks at Detroit Pistons
Bet: Detroit Pistons win – $1.37
Bet: Total game score under 194 @ $1.91
Two young up and coming teams that simply struggle to put the ball in the hole go head to head in this clash. And both sides have had serious issues to start the season. The Bucks have been killed by a lack of spacing on offence, leaving them second last in points per game. They don’t have any shooters, so the obvious talents of Greg Monroe, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker are stifled by a lack of space. It also doesn’t help that their prized point guard Michael Carter Williams is playing like a leper. But the Pistons have a serious problem of their own too – no bench. it’s the worst in the NBA by a long way and has necessitated that Stan Van Gundy play his starters for huge swathes of games, leaving them weary when crunch times come. Many times have they surrendered a lead when the bench has come in and the starters just haven’t had the petrol tickets to peg it back. They’re just 21st in the league in scoring, meaning neither of these teams has had great success in finding the bucket. The Bucks aren’t great defensively, but they tend to match up well with the Pistons, as evidenced by their 109-88 win last time these two teams met. The Pistons got 15 points and 15 boards from all star bound big man Andre Drummond, but point guard Reggie Jackson – who popped off 34 points and 16 assists in the win over Phoenix – was held to just seven as all five Bucks starters reached double figures, led by Monroe’s 20 and 13. Not compelling evidence for a Pistons win, but the Bucks have lost four of their last five since that night and have to hit the road in this one. Expecy plenty of bricks to be laid in a low scoring affair.
Houston Rockets at Dallas Mavericks
Bet: Dallas Mavericks win $1.41
Bet: Total game score over 209 @ $1.91
Two high powered teams face off with each enjoying vastly different fortunes. The Rockets were supposed to be a title contender with the addition of Denver’s speedy point guard Ty Lawson. But his battle with booze and the law has ruined his impact on the team and left it all basically up to no D James Harden. The Beard is one of the greatest offensive players on the planet but, like Carmelo Anthony in his halcyon days, seems to flat out refuse to play any defence. Two year’s ago, several clips of Harden sleeping on defence emerged. Last year, he went a way toward dispelling the theory that he doesn’t try on defence. But a series of woeful recent efforts, including one where he just stands there and watches an opponent pick up an offensive rebound and lay it in, have only added to the argument. The Rockets have been wildly inconsistent, with losing streaks of four and three games mixed in with four and three game winnings streaks. They have won three of their last four, with Harden dominating, but they haven’t faced any team that is close to the Mavericks. Dirk Nowitzki and his team of trusty vets won six in a row before a three game slide halted some of their momentum. They are nearly unbeatable on their home floor, with Deron Williams running the team like clockwork. The Mavs have too much professionalism and stability to lose this one – unless Harden has one of his ridiculously huge nights. Watch the shoot out as two of the high scoring teams fill it up.
