The .500 mark is creeping up on us after a disappointing 1-2 day on Saturday taking our season tally to 50-43-1. We’ll aim to maintain some distance by having a 3-0 day today as we preview some of the key matchups in the NBA for Sunday, the 26th of February. Just the one ESPN televised game for us today as the Cavaliers host the Bulls. We’ll take a closer look at that game plus two other interesting matchups below.
Chicago Bulls at Cleveland Cavaliers (12pm AEDT)
The Cavaliers looked solid in their return game against the New York Knicks claiming a 15-point win as LeBron James exploded for a triple double and Kyrie Irving chipped in with 23 points. There’s ominous signs for the Cavs, as mid-season recruit Kyle Korver has begun to find his feet in a Cavs uniform, dropping six 3’s in each of their last two games. James was announced out late on Sunday morning. The Cavs are still favourites, but the line moved five points.
The Bulls found a way to win in OT against the Suns Saturday, scraping through a 7-point win at home on the back of a stellar Jimmy Butler performance. New recruit Cameron Payne missed the game through illness but could get his first start for the Bulls Sunday. After conceding that a rebuild is imminent and trading away two of their key rotation players, they will probably lack a lot of bench scoring going forward. They are coming up against one of the deepest teams in the league that have plenty of bench scoring, for that reason, I think Cleveland win here - even with Lebron on the sidelines.
TIP: Cleveland -5.5 - $1.95 at Sportsbet
Note: Tip updated after LeBron was announced as out.
Brooklyn Nets at Golden State Warriors (2.30pm AEDT)
The Nets have been somewhat of a danger team for the Warriors over their current golden run. While they are only 1-4 against them since the start of the 2014-15 season, they have been one team that has been able to score consistently against Golden State. Although I expect the Warriors to win, the line for this game is just too high
I think any time you can get a team with a 22.5-point head start, you have to take it, if the Warriors are up by double digits going into the fourth we will most likely see them rest their stars meaning the margin could potentially just hover. Hopefully the Nets can repeat their efforts of a few years ago, when they went into Oracle Arena and beat the eventual Champions.
TIP: Brooklyn Nets +22.5 - $1.91 at bet365
Minnesota Timberwolves at Houston Rockets (1pm AEDT)
The Rockets exploded for a 30-point win on Friday against the new look Pelicans. Scoring 129 points and hitting a whopping 20 3pt shots in the process. They are a lethal shooting team and look like the only team capable of scoring at a similar rate to the Warriors at the moment. New recruit Lou Williams impressed off the bench with 27 points, making their shooting line-up even more deadly. While they don’t play much defence, making the trade for Williams suggests they are just going to back their pure scoring and shooting ability for the rest of the year, which will be fine for offensive minded coach Mike D’Antoni.
The Timberwolves claimed a home victory against the Mavericks Saturday in their first game back from the All-Star break, with Karl-Anthony Towns going off for 26 points and 18 rebounds. It’s the second game in a row with 18 or more rebounds for KAT, proving himself as one of the most dominant big men in the league, he should have another field day here coming up against the likes of Nene and Clint Capella, but I don’t think it’ll be enough to stop the Rockets from shooting themselves to a home win.
TIP: Houston Rockets -11 - $1.95 at Sportsbet
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