There’s an enormous 13-game slate of NBA on this Thursday with action getting underway at 11am AEDT. As always, we’ve scoured the markets to bring you some fantastic bets for what promises to be an exciting day of basketball.
NBA Betting Tips: Thursday, 20th of January
Portland Trail Blazers at Miami Heat
FTX Arena, 11:30am AEDT
The Trail Blazers continue to put in good performances despite being heavily undermanned. Most recently they took care of business on the road with back-to-back wins against the Wizards and the Magic, making it four wins from their last five games. The Trail Blazers have now moved into 10th spot in the West with an 18-25 record.
The Heat have also been playing undermanned in recent weeks and they too have gone on a solid winning run. They were too good for the Raptors in a tight battle in their most recent outing, defeating them by five points in what was their fifth win from their last six games. The Heat now find themselves knocking on the door of top spot in the East with a 28-16 record.
Both of these teams would be very pleased with how they’ve performed in recent weeks, but only one can come away with a win on Thursday. The Heat will start as the red-hot favourites on their home deck, but the Trail Blazers certainly shouldn’t be underestimated in this clash. The Trail Blazers were able to keep it close when they met the Heat just a couple of weeks ago and we expect them to do the same again here.
Portland Trail Blazers +8.5
$1.99
Memphis Grizzlies at Milwaukee Bucks
Fiserv Forum, 12pm AEDT
The Grizzlies finally had their huge win streak broken at 12 when they were defeated by the Mavericks by 27 points at the start of the week. However, they quickly got themselves back onto the winners list with another impressive win against a quality opponent in the Bulls. The Grizzlies are now just 4.5 games behind the Suns who have the best record in the NBA.
The Bucks were unable to match it with the desperate Hawks in their most recent outing, which they ended up losing by seven points. Unfortunately for the defending champions, that was their sixth loss from their last eight games in what’s turning into a really poor start to 2022. Despite that, the Bucks remain in the top five in the East and just two games behind the Bulls in first.
This is the most interestingly priced game on the slate in our opinion. Yes, the Bucks are the defending champions and have home court advantage on their side, but their form has left a lot to be desired of late and they come up against the form team of the competition in the Grizzlies. In our opinion, even if the away side aren’t quite at full strength on Thursday, they’re still a decent chance of securing another important win.
Memphis Grizzlies +7
$1.90
Toronto Raptors at Dallas Mavericks
American Airlines Center, 12:30pm AEDT
The Raptors have been one of the harder teams to follow this season due to their high highs and low lows. They’re currently going through one of their rough patches having lost three of their last four games, although two of those came against last year’s NBA Finalists. Overall, the Raptors would have to be fairly happy with their 21-20 record considering the limited firepower on their roster.
The Mavericks have had a really tough run with injuries this season but have finally started to get some continuity with their rotations in recent weeks. They enter this slate having won each of their last three games and nine of their last 10, which makes them one of the best form teams in the competition. Still, the Mavericks are only six games above .500 at 25-19.
Both of these teams have struggled for consistency this season, but both have enjoyed plenty of success over the last four weeks. In saying that, the Mavericks have been the better of the two teams in recent games and will be full of confidence of getting the desired result on their home deck on Thursday. We too, expect them to take care of business.
Dallas Mavericks -3.5
$1.81
Player Props
11am Nets at Wizards – Spencer Dinwiddie 14+ Points $1.79 Sportsbet
11am Nets at Wizards – James Harden 27+ Points $1.93 Picklebet
11am Magic at 76ers – Joel Embiid 29+ Points $1.90 Picklebet
11:30am Timberwolves at Hawks – De’Andre Hunter 14+ Points $1.83 Picklebet
11:30am Trail Blazers at Heat – Anfernee Simons 20+ Points $1.95 TAB
11:30am Trail Blazers at Heat – Robert Covington 7+ Rebounds $2.15 TAB
12pm Cavaliers at Bulls – Darius Garland 33+ PRA $1.85 Sportsbet
12:30pm Thunder at Spurs – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 25+ Points $1.85 TAB
2pm Clippers at Nuggets – Will Barton 15+ Points $1.77 Picklebet
2pm Pistons at Kings – De’Aaron Fox 23+ Points $1.84 Picklebet
