Golden State will travel to Boston this Saturday, the 19th of November (AEDT) for their only game in the Boston Garden this season. The Warriors currently sit 2nd in the West standings at 9-2, trailing only their rivals the Los Angeles Clippers. While the Celtics got off to a fairly underwhelming season, they seemed to have steadied the ship, winning three of their last four. The second game of EPSN’s Saturday Double Header will feature the league best Clippers travel up the road to Sacramento to take on the struggling Kings.
See our preview and betting tips for the televised games plus other key matchups below!
Golden State Warriors at Boston Celtics (12pm AEDT)
The Celtics star off season signing, Al Horford, has missed the last eight games with a concussion, giving Boston somewhat of an excuse for their poor play to start the season. The Celtics are currently the worst rebounding team in the league, and while Horford isn’t known as an outstanding rebounder, his presence in the paint is obviously missed. Jae Crowder has also missed the last seven games with a sprained ankle, leaving the Celtics without their best wing defender. Both are nearing their expected return date, and at this stage are listed as ‘Day to Day’ meaning we most likely won’t find out if they are playing or not until tomorrow morning. Without at least one of the duo, I find it hard to predict a scenario where the Celtics win this game.
One upside for the Celtics however is their recent form against the 2014/15 NBA Champions. They dealt the Warriors their only loss at home last season, the last two times the teams met, and that was also without the duo of Horford and Crowder. However, since then, the Warriors have added one of the best five players in the league and while they did look vulnerable early in the season with losses to the Spurs and Lakers, they seem to be developing chemistry now, winning their last five in a row. The absence of Crowder in this one will be of bigger detriment to the Celtics than it was last season, as he would have been the prime candidate to matchup up on Kevin Durant. The Celtics boast a formidable defensive unit to matchup with the Warriors, with Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart being arguably two of the best defenders at the guard position in the league.
Although Steph Curry scored 29 and 38 in their two meetings last year, Avery Bradley kept him to 18-46 shooting which is well down on Curry’s FG%. Without knowing whether the Celtics duo is going to play, I feel safe taking Steph’s under in this game, due to the relentless pressure he will be getting from both Bradley and Smart.
TIP: Steph Curry UNDER 28.5 Points - $1.87 at Sportsbet
Los Angeles Clippers at Sacramento Kings (2.30pm AEDT)
The Clippers are the best team in the league through 12 games, there’s no denying that. They have been absolutely blowing teams out, suffering losses to only Golden State and Memphis in the process. Chris Paul is an underatted MVP candidate and Blake Griffin is back to his athletic best after a less than desirable season last year. The Kings, on the other hand, seem to be trending in the opposite direction, and that trend marks the same old story for the most stagnant franchise in the NBA. After showing promise in the pre-season, the Kings seem to be right back where they inevitably end up every season, on the outside looking in. They currently sit 4-8 on the season so far, with wins over some weak teams in the Wolves, Pelicans and Suns making their record semi respectable.
Demarcus Cousins as per usual has been the shining light on the stats sheet. However, time and time we’ve seen him have outstanding individual performances but fail to deliver his team the all-important W. At what stage do we have to start looking for the common denominator in the Kings horrid run over the last decade. The way the Clippers are blowing out good teams at the moment, I see no way the Kings can even keep this one close. A seven point line is extremely generous to the Kings who match up against a team that has already had seven wins of 12 points or more this season.
TIP: Los Angeles Clippers -7 - $1.95 at Sportsbet
San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Lakers (2.30pm AEDT)
The Spurs, as per usual, are going along their business quietly, maintaining a manageable enough distance behind the front runners to keep them out of the limelight. By now, anyone would think that Coach Greg Popovich does this on purpose. It seems that there is never any hype surrounding the Spurs, but come playoff time, they are always around the mark, and very competitive in the post season. With good wins over Warriors, Rockets and Jazz to start the season, Popovich will be happy to be within a few games of first place while still ironing out some kinks in the team’s chemistry. The Spurs have had to adjust to life without the greatest power forward of all time in Tim Duncan, who even at an old age, gave them stability in the paint on the defensive end that for the moment, they are struggling to replicate.
Kawhi Leornard is however doing the best he can to limit the drop off in defensive production. The Spurs defensive statistics against opposing small forwards are the best in the league. Having someone like Kawhi who can guard positions one through four comes in very handy when coming up against the talent that is inevitable in a loaded Western Conference. Kawhi has already kept James Harden to under 25 points twice this year, a feat that has been done by only one other team. While he generally sticks to guarding the opposing teams best wing player for the majority of the game, I wouldn’t be surprised if he spent a period on D’Angelo Russel in this matchup, taking away the Lakers most dangerous scoring threat.
The Lakers have surprised many this season, starting the year 7-5 and in the top five in the western conference. Four of their wins have come against relative minnows in the NBA, however, the other three came against Golden State, Atlanta and Houston, who boast a 25-9 record between them. This is a hard one for me to pick, I’m going to stay away from the head to head market, and back the total score, which seems to be a few points to low considering the Lakers have put up over 100 in eight of their 12 games and the Spurs have evolved into a high-powered offence with the changing of guards after Duncan’s departure.
TIP: Total Points OVER 208 - $1.91 at Sportsbet
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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!
