The NBA continues this Wednesday morning and afternoon with a fantastic five game slate. The day is headlined by an ESPN double-header for us Aussie fans, which sees the Knicks taking on the Lakers from 11.30am followed by the Nuggets hosting the Pelicans from 2.00pm.
Check out our preview and betting tips for the key games of the day below and remember to head to our NBA Tips page for regular updates.
NBA Wednesday Betting Tips
Miami Heat at Cleveland Cavaliers
11.00am (AEDT)
The two best defences in the league will square off from 11am on Wednesday morning as the Cavaliers host the Heat. They allow just 106.9 and 108.4 points per game respectively this season, the two best marks in the league. The Cavs sit in 5th place in the Eastern Conference, currently maintaining a 31-21 record. They have, however, won just five of their last 10 games as they have battled through injury to primary scorer Donovan Mitchell.
The Heat sit one spot behind the Cavs in the Eastern Conference and a win here would go a long way into pegging back the three game lead that their opponents currently maintain. They have battled injury throughout the season and star guard Jimmy Butler is listed as questionable for this clash with a quad injury. They have won seven of their last 10 games but have struggled on the road this season with just a 11-14 record away from Miami.
Tough to pick a winner here at the current five point line. Leaning more towards the unders here. As we mentioned, these are the two best defences in the league and when they met in Cleveland earlier this season, just 200 total points we scored.
Los Angeles Lakers at New York Knicks
11.30am (AEDT)
King James should be back in action on Wednesday morning after missing the Lakers loss to the Nets on Tuesday through rest. It’s a good sign for the Lakers, as their star forward will want to put on a show in Madison Square Garden as he approaches the all-time NBA points scoring record. The Lakers were more competitive than the scoreline suggested in the loss to the Nets, led by 6th man of the year candidate Russel Westbrook, who had a near triple double in the game.
The Knicks sit in 7th place in the Eastern Conference with a 27-24 record. Compared to a lot of the other teams in the top eight, they have just an average record at home at 18-15, which makes sense given the added adrenaline opposing teams have when playing in the famous MSG. They are healthy at the moment, missing only centre Mitchell Robinson.
The Knicks start as 2.5 point favorites at home but I like the Lakers at that line. With LeBron on the back of a night off and the Lakers having shown some great chemistry without him on Tuesday, I think there is real value in the traveling side here.
New Orleans Pelicans at Denver Nuggets
2.00pm (AEDT)
The Nuggets will look to improve on their dominant home record when they host the Pelicans in the 2nd game of the ESPN double header. They are a league best 22-4 at home this season and 15-11 against the spread in those games. They have been without star centre Nikola Jokic through a hamstring injury for a few of their recent games, but the MVP favourite should be abc in the line-up Wednesday afternoon.
The Pelicans are still without their own star big man Zion Williamson, who has missed over a month with a hamstring injury. They do, however, have Brandon Ingram back in the line-up, who will add some much needed scoring to the Pelicans, who are sliding down the Western Conference standings having won just 1 of their last 10 games.
Like the Nuggets at home here. They have been so dominant at home this season and have all of their stars in the line-up for what seems like the first time all year at the moment. The Pelicans have failed to cover in their last three games in a row, lowing those three by an average of 14.6 points.
