IT’S a lazy Aussie Sunday, the first of the New Year and there is a smorgasbord of NBA on offer for punters.
The woeful Brooklyn Nets head to Boston for a clash with the surprising Celtics, the almost as bad Phoenix Suns mix it up in Sactown against Boogie Cousins and the Kings and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s deadly Durant-Westbrook combo goes visits the Charlotte Hornets.
An eastern shin dig sees the Detroit Pistons head to the birth place of basketball to take on Paul George and the Indiana Pacers the Orlando Magic head to Cleveland to take on the sliding Cavaliers and AD’s New Orleans Pelicans visit Texas for a show down with Dirk Nowitzki and his Dallas Mavericks.
Speaking of Texas, two of the south’s titans in the Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs match up in a battle of two teams with vastly different fortunes.
The Memphis Grizzlies head to Utah to face off against the Jazz, the Denver Nuggets have to deal with a Golden State Warriors side that might be missing reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Steph Curry and the NBA worst Philadelphia 76ers end the day with a trip to Los Angeles in what will be another inevitable loss against the tough Clippers.
What it all adds up to is a bit of punting fun and we’re hoping we can find you a few goodies to get your multis going.
Our tips
Boston Celtics to defeat the Brooklyn Nets
Sacramento Kings to defeat the Phoenix Suns
Oklahoma City Thunder to defeat the Charlotte Hornets
Indiana Pacers to defeat the Detroit Pistons
Cleveland Cavaliers to defeat the Orlando Magic
Milwaukee Bucks to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves
Dallas Mavericks to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans
Golden State Warriors to defeat the Denver Nuggets
Los Angeles Clippers to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers
Suggested Multi
Boston Celtics at the line -9 ($1.91)
Oklahoma City Thunder vs Charlotte Hornets total game score over 208.5 ($1.91)
Dallas Mavericks at the line -2.5 ($1.91)
Los Angeles Clippers at the line -12.5 ($1.91)
Multi pays $13.30 at Sportsbet.com.au
Brooklyn Nets vs. Boston Celtics
Our tip: Boston Celtics at the line -9 ($1.91)
We’re meant to hate the Boston Celtics like we hate the Los Angeles Lakers, right? I franchise with a rich history of destroying teams in finals. But the recent struggles and the make up of this current lot makes them a little more endearing for some reason. And – despite a terrible loss against the woeful Lakers on their home deck – you feel like the men from Beantown will be keen to bounce back and re-stake their early claims on a playoff spot in the east.
The Celtics have built their early season resurgence on the back of a high powered offence, led by the out of this world Isaiah Thomas, and a stingy defence that is in the top 10 in the NBA, allowing just 99 points per night. Thomas has been the talisman, averaging a tick over 20 points per night and just under seven assists, and has had great service by back court mate Avery Bradley’s 15 points and swingman Jae Crowder’s 13. They rely on a choking defence that features five guys who average better than a steal a night and their motion offence has yielded the fifth most assists in the league this season.
They are fun to watch and should be far too good for a Nets side that probably wishes it was in a rebuild mode. They are just bad though and will probably be paying for giving up all those draft picks on the failed Deron Williams project.
The all round talents of Thaddeus Young (16 points, nine boards, 1.45 steals) have been perhaps the only bright spark for a Nets side that is led but the offensively talented, but defensively decrepit big softie Brook Lopez.
Jarrett Jack has also surprised with over seven dimes per game, but you only have to look at those names to know this team is going no where. Almost upsetting the Golden State Warriors during their huge winning streak will probably end up being the highlight of the Nets season. Celtics in a canter.
Oklahoma City Thunder vs. New Orleans Pelicans
Our tip: Total game score over 208.5 ($1.91)
Can you say scoring machines? With Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook absolutely beasting, the Oklahoma City Thunder have been racking up massive score lines, cracking 100 points in each of their past 10 games, including a 131-123 win over the Milwaukee Bucks and a 122-112 win over the Denver Nuggets. They are second in the league in points per game at nearly 109 a night, behind only the dominant Golden State Warriors, but their defence is only middling, allowing a tick over 100 per outing.
That’s where the Charlotte Hornets come in. They too know how to fill it up and are ninth in the league in scoring at 102.5 per game. The should be able to exploit that mediocre Thunder D to rack up plenty of points – even if they don’t quite have the fire power to keep up with the machines from Oklahoma City. They are coming off a loss against the Los Angeles Clippers – where they still managed 117 points – and have a date with the Toronto Raptors today, so it will be the second night of a back to back, making it even tougher to get their defence keyed in.
Expect plenty of fire works in this one, with Westbrook, Durant – both over 25 points per game – and co trading blows with the microwave like Kemba Walker and the vastly improved Nic Batum. This game has the overs written all over it and is our bet of the day, without doubt.
New Orleans Pelicans vs. Dallas Mavericks
Our tip: Dallas Mavericks at the line -2.5 ($1.91)
How good is this veteran Dallas Mavericks side? Many were predicting the Texans could end up with a late lottery pick but, packed with experience and a legend named Dirk, the Mavs have defied the nay sayers and powered themselves to the fifth best record in the Western Conference. And it’s been built on the back of a near impenetrable home record, where they have lost just five games on the season.
The Mavs are coming off a massive win over the Golden State Warriors – albeit without having to face Steph Curry – and, despite a match up with the Miami Heat today, they could be carrying a five game winning streak into the clash with the Pelicans. Despite losing wily point guard Deron Williams to a hamstring strain, Dirk and the Mavs have just kept on keeping on, with the likes of the unheralded Zaza Pachulia and JJ Barea running rampant. They have an offence that is in the top 10 in the NBA and, while it is only a middling defence, they come up against a side that would struggle to defend a wet paper bag. The Pelicans, despite possessing one of the best defenders in all of basketball in the multi talented Anthony Davis, are more like parking cones when it comes to defence.
They allow nearly 107 points per game – only two teams in the league are worst. Head coach Alvin Gentry is a master on offence, but it’s clear he needs to do something defensively with his side.
The return of Tyreke Evans was meant to help this side and, although the versatile swingman has averaged 15 points, seven assists and nearly six rebounds in 15 games, they have only won six and go into this game after a pair of losses and having won only one of their past four.
These are two teams at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to winning and losing and we expect the experienced Mavs to get the job done and win well on their home floor.
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Los Angeles Clippers
Our tip: Los Angeles Clippers at the line -12.5 ($1.91)
Stop the press, the Philadelphia 76ers actually won a game! It was only the Sacramento Kings, but still, on the road, when you’ve only won two games on the season, it’s reason to celebrate. But hold up, let’s not get too excited, the tank is still real in Philly and that means a big loss is on the cards against the Clippers. The boys from LA are the most hated side in the NBA, but they tend to like it that way and, after a start that was perhaps below their usual lofty standards, a five game winning streak has them right back in the mix.
The Clippers are 21-13, part of the chasing pack behind the clear leaders in the west – the Warriors and San Antonio Spurs – and will be gunning for the Oklahoma City Thunder in third, who are just two and a half games ahead of them in the standings. The remarkable thing is, the Clippers have been missing perhaps their best player in Blake Griffin – who is averaging 23 points, nearly nine boards and five assists a night – for the past four games and all of them have been wins. The results have been powered by stellar play from point guard talisman Chris Paul, but also special performances from guys like JJ Redick, who splashed 26 points in consecutive wins over the Hornets and Pelicans, and the much maligned Austin Rivers, who has been stepping up in the back court in Griffin’s absence.
The Sixers are rolling out a rag tag side led by Nerlens Noel up front and new acquisition Ish Smith in the back court. They are going no where fast, but will be boosted by the fact they have won two of their past three. Still, the pick of the lottery balls await and we expect the tank mode to kick back into gear in this tough trip to Los Angeles. Clippers should win this and win it very well.
