While Foxtel have deprived us of the usual double header this Saturday, the 11th of November, they have more than compensated with giving us a tantalising matchup to sink our hard earned money into. We take a look at the Cavs vs the Wizards and some of the other key matchups of the day below.
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Cleveland Cavaliers at Washington Wizards (11am AEDT)
The reigning NBA Champions travel to the capital this weekend to a) meet the president, as per the NBA Champs schedule and b) play a basketball game against the Wizards. The Cavs come into the game as the in form team in the competition, at 6-1 they look formidable. However, every game except one this season has been a a single digit margin for the Cavaliers, suggesting that they aren’t as far in front of the pack as some might think.
The Wizards are playing the kind of basketball that the people of Washington have come to expect over the last few years, quite promising but terribly inconsistent. At 2-5 on the season, they will be hoping they can steady the ship soon or suffer facing a second consecutive season without playoff basketball. The trouble for the Wizards seems to be their lack of scoring options to compliment All-Star John Wall. While they have recieved contributions from Otto Porter Jr. and Bradley Beal in both of their wins this season, it’s hard to rely on them for production night in night out.
Celeveland suffer no such problems, they have managed to score above 100 in all but one of their games so far this season, and have plenty of scoring options that have yet to be called upon. Against a Cleveland defence that is better than their opponents points per game suggests, I can’t see Washington producing the points they need to allow them to be in this game late.
TIP: Cleveland Cavaliers -6.5 - $1.96 at Sportsbet
New York Knicks at Boston Celtics (11.30am AEDT)
Two teams that have been extremely hard to get a gauge on this season are the Knicks and the Celtics. Both sit at 3-4 on the season so far and while I expected the Knicks to be quite inconsistent throughout the season, I tipped the Celtics to be one of the real contenders in the east.
To the Celtics credit, they have been ravaged by injuries early in the season. All-Star free agent signing Al Horford has missed four of their seven games, while injuries have also meant Marcus Smart, Kelly Olynyk, Jae Crowder and James Young have missed games. With the most important of those two, Horford and Crowder, ruled out for Saturday’s game against the Knicks, it could be another uphill battle for Boston.
The Knicks on the other hand have no such injury concerns, the concern for them is their defence. They allow 107 points per game, the 4th most in the Eastern Conference. One of the teams who allows more, however, is the Celtics, while this is mostly due to the absence of their two best defenders, they will be missing them for this game, so I expect a shootout in this one.
TIP: Carmelo Anthony OVER 22.5 points - $1.87 at Sportsbet
Los Angeles Clippers at Oklahoma City Thunder (12pm AEDT)
For some, the play of Russel Westbrook and Oklahoma City are the surprise of the season so far. Sitting at 6-2 on the season so far might look appealing but their schedule to date has been easy to say the least. They have played only three teams who have a record above .500, losing to two of them in the process. The team they did beat, however, was the Clippers, handing them their first and only loss for the season thus far, to leave them with a 7-1 record going into the game.
It bodes well for the Thunder, who won the game away from home, as they will also have home court advantage going into this one. The defensive play and overall ferociousness 100% of the time by Russel Westbrook causes real problems for counterpart Chris Paul, who went 4-11 for only 15 points in their last meeting. Westbrook on the other hand finished with 36 points, 5 assists and 6 rebounds that night. The fact that he also had 10 turnovers and the Thunder still managed to win the game is also promising signs for Oklahoma.
I see this game as a pick em, but most bookmakers have the Clippers favoured by 5 or more. I think that line is justifiable if this game is in LA but I’ll take Russel Westbrook at home with a 5 point head start every day of the week.
TIP: Oklahoma City Thunder +5 - $1.91 at Sportsbet
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Take note: Any of the tips in this article are simply the author’s opinion, so bet at your own risk and always gamble responsibly. Also be sure to check out the Before You Bet Twitter Page for all our thoughts in the lead up to bets! Happy punting!
