A respectable 2-1 day on Tuesday took our tally to 41-28 on the season so far, with all bets coming at a minimum of line prices. We’ll be hoping we can only improve the win column today and go 3-0 as we bring you our NBA Preview and Betting Tips for Thursday, February 2nd’s twelve game slate. We will take a look at the ESPN Australia televised double header featuring the Timberwolves at Cavaliers and Bulls at Thunder, as well the New York derby between the Nets and the Knicks.
Minnesota Timberwolves at Cleveland Cavaliers (11am AEDT)
I don’t know if you can really call it turmoil when your team is 32-15 and first in the East, but the Cavaliers are suffering some sort of downward spiral at the moment. After some controversy was caused by star LeBron James over comments directed at team management, the Cavs have suffered a form slump. They have lost 5 of their last 8 games and some injury woes have seen them drop to just two games ahead of the flying Celtics. They are back at home to the Timberwolves after an upset loss to the Mavericks on Tuesday and will relish the opportunity to play in front of home fans. Kevin Love will remain sidelined with a back injury, while the Wolves enter the game with a clean bill of health.
Considering the Wolves have hardly harboured an injury all season, you’d think they would be in a better standing than 19-29. Their young core just proves to be inconsistent too often and they really struggle to close out games, they lead the league in defeats after leading at 3qtr time. Tristan Thompson will play a big role in attempting to corral the impact of Wolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns. The 2nd half of the Wolves two-pronged attack in Andrew Wiggins will have his work cut out for him with LeBron James defending him, so if Thompson can keep Towns in check then the Cavs should win this one.
It’s easier said than done, however, and with no help from the sidelined Love, combined with the Cavs average form of late makes the 7 line a little too high in my opinion.
TIP: Minnesota Timberwolves +7 - $1.95 at William Hill
Chicago Bulls at Oklahoma City Thunder (1.30pm AEDT)
Possibly the only team making more waves than the Cavs at the moment are the Bulls. You can most definitely describe their situation at the moment as ‘in turmoil’. Although they had a decent win against the 76ers on Monday, the Bulls have been in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Fighting amongst vets and rookies as to who should take the last shot in games, point guard Rajon Rondo uploading Instagram pictures pointing out his teammates flaws, they are not promising signs heading into a six game road trip that features games against the Thunder, Rockets, Warriors and Wolves. They will be lucky if they can come out of this trip with two wins.
OKC on the other hand have been quietly going about their business, hovering around the 6th position in the West at 28-20 on the season so far. Russell Westbrook is still averaging a triple double on the season and shows absolutely no signs of slowing down. It’ll be interesting to see whether all-star guard Jimmy Butler is given the job of defnending Westbrook, my opinion is that he might not be quick enough, which will leave either Rondo or Dwyane Wade to cover the freak of nature. Not a good scenario for the Bulls at all.
Thunder big man Enes Kanter is out for 4-6 weeks with a broken hand after punching a chair, however, Westbrook should have a blinder here and I like the Thunder to take this one comfortably at home.
TIP: Oklahoma City Thunder -3.5 - $1.95 at William Hill
New York Knicks at Brooklyn Nets (11.30am AEDT)
I don’t think we have previewed a Nets game yet this season, and for good reason. By far the worst team in the NBA, there’s hardly any value in a Nets game. It’s not much different today, however, a New York derby is always a relatively big game regardless of how the teams are playing at the point in time. At 9-39 on the season so far, you would think the Nets are playing for draft picks. The problem is, they have no first round pick this year after trading a bunch of them to the Celtics in the deal that landed Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. Brook Lopez is still the one dangerous player on the Nets and he is the sole reason they have mustered 9 wins on the season, averaging 20 and 5 on the season, he can hold his head semi-high.
The Knicks haven’t fared much better in recent weeks. With both Kristapz Porzingus and Derrick Rose going through health concerns, much of the scoring load has been left to Carmelo Anthony, and while fantasy owners have relished the increase in production, the Knicks just haven’t had enough firepower in a lot of their recent games. Their defence is also a massive concern. Starting Brandon Jennings and Anthony in the same line-up will never be good for a team’s defensive prospects, and the lack of a decent interior defender hurts them a lot. They allow the 7th highest production against opposing centres in the league, which should worry them coming up against Lopez.
Porzingus only missed Wednesdays tilt against the Wizards through illness, it’s unclear whether he’ll suit up for this one. Either way, Lopez manages to get his own regardless of whether the Nets have a good or bad game lately, so I like him to cover his point line.
TIP: Brook Lopez OVER 22.5 - $1.75 at Sportsbet
Player Performance Plays for Thursday, 2nd of February
Karl Anthony Towns OVER 24.5 vs Cleveland
Dion Waiters OVER 18.5 vs Atlanta
Steph Curry UNDER 26.5 vs Charlotte
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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!
