Unfortunately, we hit on just 1 of 3 bets once again in Tuesday’s NBA betting preview. We will look to find some winning form as we take a look at the key matchups of the day in this Thursday’s nine game slate in the NBA below.
Charlotte Hornets at Boston Celtics (11.30am AEDT)
After a shaky period in the lead up to the all-star break, the Boston Celtics have won their last three games since the break, and now sit just 0.5 games behind the Raptors for first place in the Eastern Conference. Kyrie Irving has been fantastic in the last three games, leading the Celtics with 25ppg while the young guns in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum continue to impress.
Charlotte currently sit in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, four games behind a potential playoffs berth. They have, however, won their last five games in a row, and look to be making a late run at the top eight after some great wins over opposing Eastern Conference teams in the Magis, Nets, Wizards, Pistons and Bulls in their last five. Dwight Howard is a slight concern with a rib injury, but should line-up against the Celtics.
In Charlotte, we’d have real trouble picking a winner here, however, the Celtics are 22-11 at home so far this season while the Hornets away record sits at just 10-18. Boston start as 7.5 point favourites, and we think they will cover here as the Hornets have a dismal 9-15-4 record against the spread on the road, the worst in the league, and are on the second night of a back to back.
TIP: Boston Celtics -7.5 - $1.95 at Sportsbet
Golden State Warriors at Washington Wizards (12pm AEDT)
The Warriors continue their Eastern Conference road trip this Thursday as they take on the Wizards from 12pm AEDT. After the loss to the Hornets, the Wizards have won their last two games against the 76ers and Bucks and currently sit two games clear in 4th position in the Eastern Conference. The fourth spot will be a coveted one, as a host of teams in the Wizards, Pacers, Bucks and 76ers all have their eyes on it at the moment.
The Warriors have also won their last three games, all in dominant fashion, and will look to make it 2-0 on their Eastern Conference road-trip with a win in Washington. After some injury concerns before the all-star break, the Warriors are now completely healthy, and look extremely dangerous as they look to take back their stranglehold over the Western Conference. They currently sit just half a game behind the Rockets and will be looking to leapfrog them in the coming weeks as Houston have some tough games coming up.
The Warriors start as 8.5 point favourites here, which may seem like a lot on the road, but the way they have been playing lately, we have to side with them. They have won their last three games by an average of 17 points and show no signs of slowing down with a completely healthy roster.
TIP: Golden State -8.5 - $1.95 at Sportsbet
Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Clippers (2.30pm AEDT)
Houston will be hunting their 14th win in a row on Thursday as they face off against the Clippers in LA from 2.30pm AEDT. The Rockets have been outstanding over the past month, blowing out teams on a regular basis, although the telling period of their season will be the coming weeks. 11 of their next 13 games feature matchups against top eight seeded teams, seven of them away from home.
The Clippers have won seven of their last 10 games and captured a great win against Denver away from home on Wednesday. They will, however, be on the second night of a tough back to back, and will likely be without Danilo Gallinari, who missed Wednesday’s game with a hand injury.
While we think the Clippers have definitely improved since trading star Blake Griffin, we think the second game in two nights, especially after coming home from Denver which is a really tough place to play, will be too much for them here. The Rockets have won five of their last seven by 9 points or more and we expect them to get the job done once again.
TIP: Houston Rockets -5.5 - $1.95 at Sportsbet
