A very disappointing 0-3 day on Thursday means we are on the knifes edge of slipping below the .500 mark at 53-49-1. We have taken some pretty unlucky L’s over the past few weeks, so we’ll be looking for sure things over value as we preview some of the key games in the NBA on Saturday, the 4th of March.
Cleveland Cavaliers at Atlanta Hawks (11am AEDT)
It seems every time we give out tips, we are previewing a Cavaliers game. They are by far the most televised team in the comp and at 27-30-2 against the spread, they are one of the hardest teams to pick correctly on a regular basis. They come up against the Hawks Saturday who will be looking to get their 5-game home stand off to a good start with a win over the Eastern Conference leaders.
The Cavs acquired the services of sought after centre Andrew Bogut through the week, but he won’t be available for this game. They have, however, already unveiled their other new recruit, Deron Williams, who is serving as an extremely hand up back up point guard to Kyrie Irving. It’s a big game, and subsequent home stand, for the Hawks if they aim to improve their standings in the East and coming off the back of two good wins against Boston and Dallas, they should be primed to make a real go of this.
As much as they have looked a troubled recently with losses to Boston and Chicago, it’s still hard to bet against the Cavs, especially with this new look bench that has so many scoring options. With a smallish line, I like the Cavs to cover here.
TIP: Cleveland -3 - $1.95 at Sportsbet
San Antonio Spurs at New Orleans Pelicans (1.30pm AEDT)
The Spurs are continuing about their business having won all of their games since the All-Star break after edging out Indiana by 1 point on Thursday. Things haven’t worked out as well for New Orleans since the break and since trading for All-Star DeMarcus Cousins. The Pelicans have lost three of their four games, and while Cousins and teammate Anthony Davis have been dominant on the stats sheet, they haven’t been able to translate it into wins just yet.
It’ll be another tough test for them on Saturday as they come up against a Spurs side that has a rampaging Kawhi Leonard as well as just welcoming Pau Gasol back from injury. The Spurs have a clean bill of health in what seems like forever, which is an extremely daunting prospect for anyone who crosses their path. While they aren’t the greatest defenders, in Gasol, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Dewayne Dedmond, the Spurs have some seriously massive bodies to through at the twin towers from New Orleans, which should make the job a little easier.
The Pelicans are also very top and bottom heavy, meaning they have obviously the two monsters down low, and surround them with a lot of guards. No one on the Pelicans roster is capable of defending Kawhi Leonard, he should have a field day here and the Spurs should grab an easy W.
TIP: San Antonio -6 -$1.95 at Sportsbet
Oklahoma City Thunder at Phoenix Suns (1pm AEDT)
The Thunder will be hunting for a win here coming off a very disappointing loss to Portland on Friday. They have been decent since the break, with 3 wins and 1 loss while the Suns have 1 win and 3 losses. The Suns are inconsistent at best and even at home, I think a 3 point line here is way to low against a Thunder team that has a clean bill of health barring Victor Oladipo.
Russel Westbrook has scored over 40 points in his last three games and I think he will once again be too much for the Suns to handle. Thunder to take this one comfortably
TIP: Oklahoma City Thunder -3 - $1.95 at William Hill
