We’re in some solid form at the moment with our NBA betting tips and are coming off a Tuesday slate where we went 2/3. The Pelicans and the Kings both took care of home-court against their lesser opponents, but the Mavericks were unable to hold off the rampaging Lakers in the second half. We now shift our focus to a busy 10-game slate on Thursday and provide our preview and betting tips of the value games. As always, good luck to everyone following!
NBA Betting Tips Thursday January 10th
Philadelphia 76ers @ Washington Wizards (11am AEDT)
We kick things off in Washington on Thursday with the Wizards set to host the Philadelphia 76ers. Interestingly, these teams faced off on Wednesday and will be playing twice in under 24 hours.
The game at Philly on Wednesday ended in a very comfortable win for the home team. They led the game from wire-to-wire and were up by a huge 23 points at half time. First year guard Landry Shamet stole the show for the Sixers, draining eight three-pointers on his way to 29 points for the game.
Based on what we saw Wednesday, we’ve got no idea why the Bookies have priced this at nearly even odds. Even with the home-court advantage we expect the Sixers to be far too strong once again. JJ Redick will miss, but by all reports at this stage Jimmy Butler will play. We see them covering the spread quite comfortably for the second time in as many days here.
Philadelphia 76ers -2.5
$1.92
Indiana Pacers @ Boston Celtics (11am AEDT)
Our second play of the day comes from the Eastern Conference match-up between the Indiana Pacers and the Boston Celtics. This will be just the second meeting between these teams this season. The Pacers won the first by a single point in a terrific duel.
The Pacers will enter the second game of a road back-to-back coming off an eight point win against the Cavaliers. They led by a whopping 22 points at the first break and led by as many as 26 during the third quarter, but collapsed in the fourth quarter, letting the Cavs get to within five points with under two minutes remaining. The Pacers obviously managed to hang on, but their key players played a lot more minutes than Nate McMillan would’ve anticipated, or at least hoped.
The Celtics come into this one in some really nice touch, having won each of their last three games by double-digit margins. It’s been a good turn of form for the Celtics, who are now starting to get back to full health, surging to the top of the East in the process.
The Celtics are one of the deepest teams in the league and hardest teams to defeat on the road. They’re starting to find top form and come up against a Pacers unit that played a close game the day before. For these reasons, we see the Celtics covering the spread in this one.
Boston Celtics -6.5
$1.92
Phoenix Suns @ Dallas Mavericks (12:30pm AEDT)
Our third and final play on Thursday is between the Phoenix Suns and the Dallas Mavericks. These teams have already faced off twice this season, with the Suns winning on both occasions at home.
The Suns will travel to Dallas to play their second leg of a back-to-back after winning a thrilling game against the Kings on Wednesday. They were down by as many as 21 points during the third quarter, but were able to rally back without star guard Devin Booker to defeat the Kings by four points.
The Mavericks will be looking to get back to winning ways after blowing a big lead at home against the Lakers last time out. It looked as though they were going to have their way with the Lebron-less Lakers, but the Lakers young stars proved too much for the Mavericks on the break.
Again, we’re opting to oppose against the road team on the second leg of a back-to-back. The Mavericks have been one of the best home teams in the league this season and should be too strong for the short-handed and fatigued Suns.
Dallas Mavericks -8.5
$1.92
