Six game slate in the NBA this Tuesday, the 28th of March with ESPN Australia televising two big games in Cleveland at San Antonio followed by New Orleans at Utah. We preview both games as well as the important clash between OKC and Dallas below.
Cleveland Cavaliers at San Antonio Spurs (11am AEDT)
Both teams will be desperately hunting a win here, something that is rarely the case this late in the season, as the Cavs take on the Spurs in San Antonio Tuesday. The Cavaliers, who currently sit at 47-25 on the season, are locked in a race for the East with the Boston Celtics (48-26). While they probably aren’t too fussed about their opponents come the first round of playoffs, the home court advantage could be crucial if they face the Celtics in the Eastern Conference finals.
The Spurs currently sit 2 games behind Western Conference leaders the Golden State Warriors and will have a tough road the rest of the way with 7 of their 10 remaining games coming against playoff bound teams. Kawhi Leonard continues to make an extremely strong case for MVP with the Spurs having the 2nd best record in the league and Leonard being arguably the best 2-way player in the league.
Extremely tough game to pick in my opinion, the Cavs come into the game with a 4 game win streak but have struggled against the stronger sides throughout the year. With a 28-7 home record on the year so far, it’s tough to pick against the Spurs who have a clean bill of health and are peaking at the right time.
TIP: San Antonio -4.5 - $1.90 at bet365
New Orleans Pelicans at Utah Jazz (1.30pm AEDT)
Maybe the most interesting of all the playoff races is the battle for the 4th seed in the West between Utah and the Clippers. The Jazz currently lead the Clippers by two games in the loss column, but will need to make sure they keep winning to maintain that lead. Their draw is favourable with just four away games in their last 9 but they will have to play San Antonio twice as well as the Warriors. The Clippers also hold the tiebreaker, having won the season series 3-1 so this is an absolute must win for the Jazz.
The Pelicans are well out of the playoff race at 5 games behind the 8th placed Nuggets, so their interest in wins could be waning. DeMarcus Cousins is also questionable with an injured ankle and if he does suit up will probably see limited minutes. While they were hoping the move for him would propel them into the playoffs this year, there proved to be not enough time for coach Alvin Gentry to develop chemistry and they will now look forward to next season.
Jump on the 8.5 line now while you can, we assume it will rise once DeMarcus is officially out.
TIP: Utah Jazz -8.5 - $1.95 at Sportsbet
Oklahoma City Thunder at Dallas Mavericks (11.30am AEDT)
Three and a half games back from 8th place in the West, Dallas will likely need to run the table here to see any playoffs action in 2017. They’ll likely have one last crack but if they lose a game we could see them shutting up shop relatively early. The play of Seth Curry has been a major highlight for Dallas this year, and will give the fans plenty to be excited about with the additions of young stars in Harrison Barnes and Nerlens Noel throughout the alst year.
OKC have received beatings at the hands of two of their main Eastern Conference rivals in the last two matches in Golden State and Houston and will be desperate for a win here to maintain their current lead over Memphis in 6th place. Russel Westbrook looks set to break the record for most triple doubles in an NBA regular season, currently sitting 5 behind Oscar Robertson’s mark of 41 with 10 games to go.
OKC will be on the 2nd night of a road back to back here but have much more to play for. They’ll be looking to bounce back after a tough loss to Houston and we can still get some pretty decent odds for them.
TIP: Oklahoma City -1 - $1.91 at Ladbrokes
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