The NBA is treating us this Valentine’s Day with a massive 11 game slate to sink out teeth into. The ESPN Double-Header features the Thunder at Wizards followed by the Trailblazers hosting the Hawks. We went 2-1 on Saturday to give us a respectable 45-36-1 on the season so far. We are hoping we can add 3 more wins today as we dive into our NBA betting tips for Tuesday, the 14th of February's NBA slate.
Oklahoma City Thunder at Washington Wizards (11am AEDT)
After getting off to a flying start on Sunday against the Warriors, the Thunder were reeled back in and eventually dominated to the tune of 16 points in Kevin Durant’s return to Oklahoma. Russel Westbrooks men get a hard task on Tuesday as they come up against the red-hot Washington Wizards at home, where they have an outstanding 23-7 record this season.
It’ll be a battle of two of the most explosive point guards in the league in this one, with Westbrook going toe to toe with Wizards All-Star John Wall. Wall has been on a tear in the Wizards recent run of good form, racking up over 10 assists and 22 points in all of their last 5 games. He’s been all but matched by the play of backcourt mate Bradley Beal, who after a few seasons of injury troubles is playing the best basketball of his career, averaging 22 points and 4 assists per game.
Another tough game to pick in the early matchup of the double-header. Russel Westbrook has been playing out of his skin but as we say on Sunday, he can get his team out to a good lead but the Thunder bench just doesn’t have the firepower to go with teams. I like the Wizards to take this one with the home court advantage.
TIP: Washington Wizards – 4.5 - $1.86 at Unibet
Atlanta Hawks at Portland Trailblazers (2.30pm AEDT)
The Blazers will have one last game at home before they embark on a four-game road trip that stretches over the All-star break this weekend. It’s unknown whether any players will take a game or two to rest over the upcoming games, but for this one at least, we should see a full-strength Portland squad. They come up against the Hawks, who are in the midst of a road trip themselves. They suffered a disappointing one point loss to the Sacramento Kings on Saturday and will need a win here to stay in striking distance of the fourth placed Toronto Raptors in the East.
The Trail Blazers currently sit ninth in the West, just one game behind the Denver Nuggets. After losing four of their last six games, they’ll be desperately hoping they can get a win here to take some momentum into the All-Star break. Although the Hawks have a record 10 games better than the Blazers, I think this is a fairly evenly matched race, and I would even give the slight advantage to the Blazers at home.
TIP: Portland Trailblazers -1.5 - $.195 at Sportsbet
Golden State Warriors at Denver Nuggets (1pm AEDT)
Two of the highest scoring, most efficient offensive teams go head to head here in Golden State and Denver. Golden State have looked unstoppable of late, winning their last three matches by a total of 62 points. While Denver have been scoring in buckets, they haven’t exactly been getting wins on the board, sitting at just 24-30 on the season so far. Denver are also dealing with a host of health concerns at the moment, with Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Keneth Faied, Gary Harris and Emanuel Mudiay all in question for the game.
Due to all of the injuries, you can’t look past the Warriors here. A line of 11.5 points for the Warriors isn’t a tough one to achieve at all, and if just 3 of those 5 Denver players don’t suit up, they’ll struggle to score enough to stay with the Warriors.
Note: If the Denver players do get up, consider taking the over on total points currently at 238.5.
TIP: Golden State Warriors -11.5 - $1.95 at William Hill
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