It’s been great to have the NBA back for a couple of weeks now and we’ve certainly taken full advantage of it. We’re 23/34 on our plays so far this season and have six more betting tips for you right here. Check out our best spread bets and player props for the eight-game slate of NBA on Thursday below and good luck to everyone following!
NBA Betting Tips: Thursday, 14th of January
Dallas Mavericks at Charlotte Hornets
Spectrum Center, 11am AEDT
The Mavericks got off to a slow start this season with losses in four of their first six games, but have steadied the ship with wins in each of their last three. Luka Doncic has been putting up MVP type numbers (27/9/8), while Kristaps Porzingis is expected to return to the court in the coming days, potentially even for this clash with the Hornets.
The Hornets have surprised a few with a hot start to the season and come into this with a solid 6-5 record. LaMelo Ball has made a superb start to his career in the NBA and became the youngest player ever to record a triple-double with his 22/12/11 performance against the Hawks.
Both teams come into this matchup in winning form, but the Hornets have been the more impressive of the two in our opinion. They’ve won four on the spin and with a 4.5-point head start at home, we see them as great value here.
We mentioned above how impressive Ball has been in the first couple of weeks of his career, but there’s still plenty of value in his prop markets. He’s had 19+ rebounds and assists in his last three games and we see no reason why that trend won’t continue here.
Prop: Ball O14.5 R+A ($1.96)
Charlotte Hornets +4.5
$1.82
Brooklyn Nets at New York Knicks
Madison Square Garden, 11:30am AEDT
The Nets have had an interesting start to the season to say the least. They’ve had Covid cases, blowout wins, blowout losses, and Kyrie Irving going off the grid. Despite all of that, the Nets have a 6-6 record which isn’t all that bad for a team trying to build chemistry.
The Knicks got off to a hot start at 5-3 to surprise a few people, but have regressed since with three losses in a row. Julius Randle has been a monster for them with averages of 22/11/7, putting his hat in the ring for Most Improved Player.
The Nets are certainly in the better form of the two clubs, but are on the second night of a road back-to-back, which is always tough, particularly with the number of injured players they have on the roster. We’re expecting a desperate Knicks side to give them a run here and to potentially steal the win.
Caris LeVert has been thrown back in the starting line-up with Kyrie Irving MIA. He’s playing a lot more minutes as a result and is putting up some very big numbers. We expect him to cover his 30.5 PRA without too much trouble.
Prop: LeVert O30.5 PRA ($1.85)
New York Knicks +5.5
$1.90
Atlanta Hawks at Phoenix Suns
PHX Arena, 1pm AEDT
The Hawks were another team that got off to a hot start but then went cold for a week or so. They bounced back with an emphatic win against a depleted Sixers line-up last time out however, which should give them a bit of confidence going forward.
The new-look Suns hit the ground running with five of their first six games, but have since gone on to lose three of their past five. They’ve certainly looked the goods in games against the better teams in the league, but have lost a bit of their focus when coming up against the weaker teams, highlighted by their 21-point loss to the Wizards last time out.
Coming off a disappointing loss against one of the worst teams in the league, we expect the Suns to be raring to go in this one. They’ve bounced back with wins after all of their losses this season and we expect that trend to continue against the Hawks on Thursday.
One player that looked to have really improved in their second year in the league is DeAndre Hunter. The former #4 pick has put up averages of 16/7/2 and looks to be getting better with every game he plays. As long as this game isn’t a blowout, we see Hunter clearing his PRA comfortably.
Prop: Hunter O22.5 PRA ($1.85)
