Saturday in the NBA boasts a fantastic 10 game slate including some monster matchups including the Celtics taking on the Nuggets and the Rockets facing the Clippers in the late game. We have a full preview and betting tips for some of the key games of the day below.
NBA Betting Tips Saturday 23rd December
Los Angeles Lakers at Oklahoma City Thunder (12pm AEDT)
The Lakers have started the season like a house on fire, winning 12 of their first 14 games and their last five in a row. LeBron James and Anthony Davis have been clicking as a 1-2 punch with the pair combining for 59 points in their five point win over the Thunder on Wednesday.
They’ll face off against the Thunder again on Saturday, this time on the road, where they are 4-1 on the season so far. The Thunder have lost their last two games in a row and sit in tenth place in the Western Conference after a 5-9 start.
The Lakers start as __ point favourites here and we are leaning towards them at that spread. Los Angeles are 9-5 against the spread this season, which is the fourth best mark in the league behind only the Heat, Raptors and Suns.
Boston Celtics at Denver Nuggets (1pm AEDT)
The Celtics suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Clippers on Thursday, going down by three points on the road. It was just their third loss of the season but their second in three games after they lost to the Sacramento kings last week. They still sit atop the Eastern Conference with an 11-3 record.
The Nuggets had a fantastic win over the Rockets on Thursday to really jumpstart their season. They currently sit in 2nd place in the Western Conference with a 10-3 record and have won their last three games in row. They are a dominant home team and will be back in the Pepsi Center this Saturday against the Celtics.
The Nuggets start as slight favourites here but we are leaning towards the Celtics on the road. The Celtics will be desperate to bounce back from the tough loss to the Clippers on Thursday and should play much more stingy defence on Denver than the Rockets did in their last game.
Houston Rockets at Los Angeles Clippers (2.30pm AEDT)
The Rockets and Clippers will duke it out in the game of the day from 2.30pm. The Rockets will be coming off a loss to the Nuggets in Denver on Thursday, going down by 10 points as their offence failed to score 100 for the first time this season.
The Clippers were victorious over the Celtics on Thursday as Kawhi Leonard returned to the line-up. With Leonard and Paul George in the line-up, the Clippers look dynamic on both offence and defence and they will start as favourites at home against the Rockets.
The Clippers have one of the best defences in the league. They have allowed just 106.4 points per game, which is the in the top 10 in the league. The Houston offence looked pretty lacklustre against the Nuggets on Thursday and with Kawhi and George locking down Harden, we think the Rockets offence goes under again.
Rockets UNDER 110.5
$1.91
