After another successful day with our NBA betting tips on Wednesday, we now turn our attention to the big slate on Thursday where there 11 games scheduled for play. Jake Smit takes you through his best bets!
Also, sure to check out our NBA tips page regularly to find our best bets for multiple slates each week!
NBA Betting Tips: Thursday, 8th December
Los Angeles Clippers at Orlando Magic
Amway Center, 11am AEDT
Looking to make it back-to-back wins on the road, the Los Angeles Clippers will travel to take on the Orlando Magic at the Amway Center. The Clippers will start as the hot favourites in this one ($1.38 vs $3.09).
The Clippers came up clutch in their recent game against the Hornets where they were able to come from behind in the fourth quarter to close it out 119-117. Both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George returned from injury for that game, and both are currently listed as likely to suit up again on Thursday.
They now face the Magic who have put their best foot forward in the tank for Victor Wembanyama. They’ve lost nine games on the spin including six in a row on their home deck.
This will be the first of only two meetings between these teams this season. The Clippers controlled the series last campaign with a 2-0 sweep with an average winning margin of 5.5 points.
The Clippers will hopefully be at full strength like most sources suggest, which will give them a massive talent and experience edge over the Magic. If that’s the case, they should be winning this by double-figures.
Los Angeles Clippers -6
$1.90 (1.5 Units)
Los Angeles Lakers at Toronto Raptors
Scotiabank Arena, 11:30am AEDT
The Lakers will continue their lengthy road trip with a stop over in Toronto to take on the Raptors. The home side will start as the very-short favourites ($1.27) against what’s likely to be an undermanned Lakers outfit ($3.78).
Anthony Davis was the recent winner of Western Conference POTW on the back of some phenomenal performances. However, he could log only eight minutes against the Cavaliers on Wednesday due to flu like symptoms. Surely, this will see him miss the second leg of their back-to-back.
The Lakers were outgunned by the Cavs in what was their seventh loss in the road from 11 games this season. They remain in 13th spot in the stacked Western Conference.
The Raptors have had a so and so campaign to date and have split their 24 games down the middle. A revolving door in their starting line-up hasn’t helped their cause, but they should be close to full strength on Thursday.
The Raptors have had tremendous success against the Lakers in recent years, winning 13 of their last 15 meetings. They now catch the Lakers on the second leg of a road back-to-back, which swings the odds even further in their favour. I expect the home side to be far too strong on this occasion.
Toronto Raptors -7.5
$1.95 (2 Units)
Golden State Warriors at Utah Jazz
Vivint Arena, 1pm AEDT
The Warriors struggles on their travels have been immense this season and it won’t get any easier when they take on the Jazz in Utah on Thursday. The Jazz are favoured heavily in the head-to-head market on this occasion ($1.36 vs $3.18).
Although the Pacers were without their potential All-Star in Tyrese Haliburton and the game was played at the Chase Center, the Warriors still couldn’t secure a win last start. It’s been a bizarre first quarter of the season for the defending champions and one that might result in a few changes to their roster in due course.
Likewise, it’s been a bizarre season for the Jazz so far, but for positive reasons. Many expected them to struggle to win 20 games this campaign, although here we are with them sitting at 14-12.
If both teams were at full strength, then you could argue that the Warriors should be winning this game; however, that is not going to be the case. The defending champions are likely to be without all of Steph Curry, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins. Those are three huge outs, and I just can’t see them being competitive without them.
Utah Jazz -5.5
$1.85 (2 Units)
