A massive 11-game slate in the NBA, as we digest the trade deadline on Friday morning, with the big trade being Kevin Durant heading to the Suns. Although the Suns won’t have their newest toy today, the Suns will still be hoping for a win over the Pacers, which we will preview below. We will also look at two of the later games, giving you our insights and best bets for all three below.
Check out our NBA betting tips for Thursday 9th February below, and make sure to check our daily content at Before You Bet!
2022-23 NBA Betting Tips: Saturday 11th February
Phoenix Suns at Indiana Pacers
Bankers Life Fieldhouse, 11:00am AEDT
The Suns were blown out yesterday in Atlanta, however they were careful in not playing Devin Booker, who is expected to play in today’s matchup with the Pacers. The Suns’ 5-game road trip ends with the matchup with the Pacers, and they will welcome a nice little 4-day break before they next host the Kings at home.
The Pacers, meanwhile, have fallen off a cliff without star Tyrese Haliburton, however they have looked a lot more competitive since his return last Friday. They now sit a game outside the play-in tournament, and they’re racing the clock to get back into form before their season ends. Today is a first game of a home and away back to back, with a massive showdown with the Wizards tomorrow. The Wizards, along with the Pacers, Bulls, and Raptors are all battling for a place in the play-in.
I’m not a huge fan of betting teams on back-to-backs, but the Suns should be good enough to get this done. If news breaks that Chris Paul and Devin Booker are to miss the game, I’d be a little concerned, but the Suns managed to beat the Pacers 3 weeks ago without the pair. I’ll bet on them getting it done again.
Phoenix Suns
$1.96 (1.5 Units)
Dallas Mavericks at Sacramento Kings
Golden 1 Center, 2:00pm AEDT
The Mavericks had their first game with Kyrie Irving on Thursday, heading to LA to take on the Clippers. Irving led from the front, scoring 24 points, with the Mavericks getting a solid away win 110-104. It was made all the more impressive, given Luca Doncic was again out for the Mavs. It appears as though Doncic will play today, so the debut of the Irving/Doncic partnership may be nigh.
The Kings keep finding ways to win, and remarkably still sit atop the Pacific Division. Slightly off topic, but the price of the Kings to win the Pacific Division looks very appealing right now. I digress. But as mentioned, the Kings seem to find ways to win games regularly, and hold a 16-11 home record this season.
My numbers say the Kings are a bet as slight favourites in this game. With Doncic and Irving together, I don’t see the Mavs struggling for points. Despite this, I believe the Kings can get the job done here at home. There’s no total listed for this one, but I see a whole lot of points.
Sacramento Kings
$1.86 (1.5 Units)
Oklahoma City Thunder at Portland Trail Blazers
Golden 1 Center, 2:00pm AEDT
This should be an absolutely fascinating game to watch, with both teams scoring at will lately. This is confirmed in the total in the market, currently sitting at over/under 241.5 points. Not only should this be an incredibly high scoring game, but it’s a vitally important game to both teams. The Blazers currently sit 10th in the Western Conference, with the Thunder just a half game back in 12th. These are the tiny differences between making the play-in tournament, and heading to Cancun when the regular season ends.
The Blazers traded Gary Payton II to the Warriors for Kevin Knox, who has been in and out of the Warriors’ line-up all season. The loss of Payton hurts the depth of this Blazers team, but I’m not sure they lose to much as a whole.
The Thunder appear healthier, and have already won the two games played this season against the Blazers. Whilst I’m not convinced they’ll be able to get the win, I anticipate this matchup to be another tight finish. The first two meetings finished 123-121 and 101-98, and I fully expect another one possession game. With over a one possession head start to the Thunder, I’ll take them to cover.
Oklahoma City Thunder (+4)
$1.91 (2 Units)
