We’ve had another good week with our NBA betting tips and will be looking to finish it off strong with some winning plays on Saturday. Catch all of our best bets from the upcoming nine-game slate right here!
NBA Betting Tips: Saturday, 20th of November
Indiana Pacers at Charlotte Hornets
Spectrum Center, 11am AEDT
The Pacers come into this game off an embarrassing away defeat to the Pistons where they gave up a comfortable lead to lose by eight points. They managed to score just 89 points, which was the second game in a row where they’ve failed to reach 90 – something you rarely see in this day and age of NBA basketball. The Pacers are now 6-10 on the season and have plenty of work to do.
The Hornets have enjoyed some successful on their current homestand, winning all three games to date to increase their overall win streak to four. Their most impressive victory came against the league-leading Warriors who they defeated by four points. Now 9-7 on the season, the Hornets have a solid platform to build on.
We’re surprised to see a near full-strength and in-form Hornets outfit start as just 2.5-point favourites here, especially with home court advantage also on their side. They have a fantastic opportunity to make it five wins on the spin against a Pacers team that is lacking confidence and assertiveness on the offensive end. We’re more than happy to be with the Hornets here.
Charlotte Hornets -2.5
$1.90
Los Angeles Lakers at Boston Celtics
TD Garden, 11:30am AEDT
The Lakers had a rough start to their road trip with a seven-point loss against the Bucks on Thursday. They’ve now lost three of their last four games and have fallen back to .500 for the season at 8-8. Some great news for the Lakers is LeBron James has been upgraded to ‘questionable’, while superstar teammate Anthony Davis is listed as ‘probable’.
The Celtics had a turbulent start to their 2021-22 campaign with five losses from their first seven games, but have since steadied the ship with five wins in their last eight to sit at 7-8 on the season. Star wing Jaylen Brown has been sidelined by injury since the 4th of November, but has been upgraded to ‘questionable’ for this huge clash against their old rivals.
The Celtics have won their last two games at home and welcome the Lakers who have lost their last three on the road. There’s still plenty of water to go under the bridge before this one gets underway, but as things stand we really like the Celtics to cover the small spread at home. We suspect the line may shift a couple of points as news gets released, so it’s probably worth getting on early.
Boston Celtics -1.5
$1.85
Toronto Raptors at Sacramento Kings
Golden 1 Center, 2pm AEDT
The Raptors surprised us all with their great start to the season with such a limited roster, but now look to be trending back down to where we all thought they'd belong. They’ve lost three in a row and six of their last seven, which has seen them slip down to 12th spot in the East. On top of all of that, the Raptors are on the road for another four games before returning to Canada.
The Kings have endured another tough start to the season which is already testing their fans patience. They started by splitting their first 10 games down the middle at 5-5, but five losses from their last six games has seen them take a big step backwards. Thankfully, the Kings now return home for four games after what was a tough road trip. They’re 6-9 on the season and sit 12th in the West.
Neither team would be happy with how they’ve played over the past fortnight, but we believe the Kings have the bigger upside now that they’ve returned home where they play far better compared to on the road. The current spread sits at just 3.5-points, which we expect them to cover with a few to spare.
Sacramento Kings -3.5
$1.90
Player Props
11am Pacers at Hornets – LaMelo Ball 35+ PRA ($2.10 TAB)
11am Pacers at Hornets – Caris LeVert 20+ Points ($2.05 TAB)
11:30am Lakers at Celtics – Jayson Tatum 30+ Points ($2.55 TAB)
2pm Mavericks at Suns – Jalen Brunson 30+ PRA ($1.82 Sportsbet)
2pm Mavericks at Suns – Devin Booker 35+ PRA ($1.95 Sportsbet)
