We hit on two out of three bets on Thursday to keep our profitable run alive in the NBA. A big 10 game slate in the NBA this Saturday, the 24th of March means we are back with another slate of betting tips below.
Miami Heat at Oklahoma City Thunder (11am AEDT)
The Miami Heat have won their last three games in a row including a fantastic 149-141 double OT win against the Nuggets on Tuesday. They now sit seventh in the Eastern Conference but are just three wins behind the Cleveland Cavaliers in third. They’ll be hoping to finish out the season strong to jump into a position where they will get home court advantage in the first round.
The Thunder are in a similar position in the West, currently sitting in 5th position but maintaining the exact same record as the Pelicans in fourth. They have won seven of their last ten games but are coming off a tough one-point loss to the Celtics on Wednesday. After a tough period with injury, the Thunder are now fully fit again and should be dangerous at home here.
The Thunder start as 6.5-point favourites here at home. Miami will still be without star centre Hassan Whiteside for this clash, who is the backbone of their defence. While they have been handy without him over the past few weeks, they haven’t beaten any quality opponents. We think the Thunder will be too strong here.
TIP: Oklahoma City -6.5 - $1.95 at Sportsbet
Utah Jazz at San Antonio Spurs (11.30am AEDT)
What an up and down year its been for the Spurs. They start the season firmly entrenched in the 3rd position in the West and have at one point dropped out of the top eight all together. They have now fought their way back to 6th but will need to keep winning to ensure they make the playoffs for a record 21st time in a row. They could be boosted by the return of superstar forward Kawhi Leonard, but with still no timetable on his return, its completely unclear whether we will even see him on the court this season.
The Jazz captured a good win over Dallas on Friday and have now won 9 of their last 10 games to re enter the Western Conference top eight. They now sit two games clear of the Denver Nuggets and will only need to win the winnable games from here on out to make the finals. The return of Rudy Gobert from injury a few months ago reformed arguably the best defence in the league.
These two teams are ranked 2nd and 3rd in defensive rating respectively so we can expect a bit of a slugfest here. We think both teams will be under 100 points here so the total point line seems a touch high.
TIP: Total points UNDER 195.5 - $1.89 at CrownBet
Boston Celtics at Portland Trail Blazers (1pm AEDT)
The Trail Blazers might be the hottest team in all of basketball at the moment. A 13-game win streak was snapped by the Houston Rockets in their last game, but they will look to bounce back against the Celtics on Saturday, who come to Portland pretty depleted through injury. Starting centre Josuf Nurkic is a question mark for Saturday’s game due to lower back soreness.
The Celtics will be without starting guards Kyrie Irving and Jaylen Brown along with first guard off the bench, Marcus Smart. The depletion at the guard position will mean the likes of Terry Rozier and Shane Larkin will need to step up during the upcoming four game road trip starting with the Blazers.
The Celtics role players banded together to get a great one point win over OKC at home a few days ago, and although we think they will lose this one away from home, the makeshift starting unit has shown the ability to keep games close. Apart from a 19 point loss to the Pelicans in New Orleans on Monday, the Celtics last three losses have come at a combined margin of just six points. We think they cover a 6.5 point line in their favour.
TIP: Boston +6.5 - $1.95 at Sportsbet
