No NBA on Friday because of the Thanksgiving celebrations means that we have time to re-group and assess a monster 10 game slate this Saturday, the 25th of November. We preview some of the key games in the day and give our betting tips below.
2017-18 NBA Preview & Betting Tips for Saturday, 25th November
Orlando Magic at Boston Celtics (11.30am AEDT)
The Celtics were beaten by Miami on Thursday to end their 16 game win streak but still boast the best record in the league. They’ll get a great chance to add to that record as they host the Orlando Magic this Saturday. Orlando surprised a lot of people to start the season with a winning record but have now lost their last six games to fall to 8-10 on the season.
Kyrie Irving is a strong MVP contender through the first 20 games of the season, averaging 22 points and 5 assists per game with really low turnover numbers. However, its been the play of youngsters Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown that has been the barometer for the Celtics great start. The pair, along with Marcus Smart, have been locked in defensively, helping the Celtics to a league best 96.4 defensive rating.
The Magic thrive on shooting a good percentage and hitting threes in transition, something that the Celtics just don’t allow, especially at home. The FG% of 46% that the Magic have maintained through the early parts of the season is bound to drop here. We like the Celtics to cover at home.
TIP: Boston Celtics -8.5 - $1.95 at Sportbset
New York Knicks at Atlanta Hawks (11.40am AEDT)
Star Knicks centre Kristaps Porzingus might well become the mayor of New York before the NBA season is out. The way he has picked the franchise up off its back after a horrendous 2016-17 to lead them to a 10-7 record so far is unbelievable. He’s picked up an Eastern Conference Player of the Week and is in the running for the scoring title, averaging 27 points per game.
Atlanta have a league worst 3-15 record on the season so far and have conceded that this will be a rebuilding year by playing young players plenty of minutes. The emergence of rookie John Collins has been a shining light in an otherwise forgetful season.
The Hawks allow top five production levels to both power forwards and centres this season, so it’s a safe bet that they’ll struggle to hold Kristaps here. With the Knicks having gone 7-3 through their last 10 games on the back of Porzingus we like them to carry on the momentum here.
TIP: New York -2 - $1.95 at William Hill
Toronto Raptors at Indiana Pacers (12.10pm AEDT)
The Pacers have been much better than people expected them to be at the start of the season, going 10-8 through the early part of the season and proving to have one of the most dynamic offences in the league. They average 108 points per game, which is good for sixth in the league on the back of some outstanding play by recruit Victor Oladipo.
Toronto sit one rung above the Pacers in that stat, averaging 109 points per game so with little defence being played on either side of the ball here, it’s likely we could get a shootout between the two SG’s in Oladipo and DeMar DeRozan. DeRozan averages 24.8 points on the season so far and has helped Toronto to a 11-6 record.
As we mentioned, with little defence being played here, we think the total point line of 216.5 is a little low. Both teams should score more than their average here.
TIP: Total score OVER 216.5 - $1.91 at CrownBet
_ _ _
Always Gamble Responsibly.
