A decent outing first up after the All-Star break on Friday saw us go 2-1 and take our season tally to 49-41-1. With a massive 10 game slate on Saturday, we’ll take a look at three of the bigger matchups and hope we can capitalise with a 3-0 outing in our NBA Betting Tips for Saturday, the 25th of February.
Boston Celtics at Toronto Raptors (12pm AEDT)
One team who was very active during the trade period will come up against one that promised to be, but ultimately disappointed as the Raptors host Boston Saturday. Toronto made two major plays, acquiring the services of Serge Ibaka from Orlando and PJ Tucker from Phoenix. It does wonders for their starting unit and crunch time five, which should now feature Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Tucker, DeMare Carroll and Ibaka. It’s a rock solid lineup but they fired all of their shots, and it still might not be enough to overcome the Cavs or Celtics in the playoffs, only time will tell for the Raps.
With the most assets of any team in the league, the Celtics looked primed to make at least one move before the deadline. It didn’t eventuate, however, and GM Danny Ainge stood firm after being rumored to be in the market for one or all of Paul George, Jimmy Butler, Carmelo Anthony, Blake Griffin, Andrew Bogut, PJ Tucker and Andre Drummond at some point throughout the last week. It’s not the worst thing in the world for the Celtics, although they could really use a rebounding rim protector, their chemistry at the moment shouldn’t be tampered with.
I think the Raptors take a little while to find their feet with a new look side and the Celtics cover the line.
TIP: Boston Celtics +3 - $1.95 at Sportsbet
San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Clippers (2.30pm AEDT)
The NBA schedule makers haven’t done the the Clippers any favors here. After a hard fought loss to the Warriors on Friday, LA will have to back it up Saturday by hosting the next best team in the league in the Spurs. The Spurs have been quiet over the All-Star and trade deadline period. With only Kawhi Leonard taking part in the festivities and the front office staying away from trade action, the Spurs will look to continue their merry way of being the quiet achievers of the NBA.
The Clippers looked okay against the Warriors Friday, scoring 113 points in the game but ultimately going down by 10. They covered the line, however, and got us a win for the day. All-Star DeAndre Jordan impressed in the game with 17 points and 11 rebounds but ultimately it was the Warriors 50 point 3rd quarter that sealed the victory for them. The Clippers are really missing their main play maker Chris Paul, for the production he brings on both ends of the floor, while Austin Rivers, JJ Reddick and Jamal Crawford are doing an admirable job in his absence, they can’t get Blake Griffin and Jordan involved like Paul can, which hurts LA.
Even with the home court advantage, I like the Spurs to cover the line here as their players have had plenty of rest and should come in fresh. Pau Gasol, who has missed the Spurs last 15 games with a broken finger is also set to return for the game.
TIP: San Antonio Spurs -3 - $1.95 at William Hill
Memphis Grizzlies at Indiana Pacers (11am AEDT)
Apart from the whirlwind of rumors surrounding Paul George throughout the trade period, both the Pacers and the Grizzlies were relatively quiet and both had not made a move come deadline. The Grizzlies have stood firm with this core for the better part of a decade now and it has worked for them year after year, so there’s no surprise they didn’t make a move. It’ll be interesting to see how much enthusiasm George plays with now that he knows his team were actively trying to trade him, and after he has publicly announced his ambition to play for the Lakers, it could throw a bit of a spanner in the works going forward for the Pacers.
At this stage in their career, its hard to bet against the trio of Gasol, Randolph and Conley when they are all playing. They are capable of beating anyone on any given night. With a clean bill of health for the first time in a while, the Grizzlies should return to the form that had them in the top four in the Western Conference earlier in the season and I like them to win this game in what is essentially a pick’em.
TIP: Memphis Grizzlies to win - $1.89 at Sportsbet
