An extremely disappointing day on Saturday saw us lose two of our bets and push on the last as the Wizards managed to scrape through their 8-point line. The Mavericks controlled the whole game against Brooklyn but fell 3 points short of their 12-point handicap while the Warriors suffered yet another shock loss, this time to the Timberwolves to leave us reeling. It’s been a tough year to pick winners in the NBA with so many upsets occurring regularly, but we’ll soldier on and aim to improve our 58-55-2 record on the season so far as we bring you our NBA Preview & Betting Tips for Tuesday, the 14th of March.
Atlanta Hawks at San Antonio Spurs (11am AEDT)
The Hawks are one of the worst teams in the league against the spread this year at 31-35. Star centre Dwight Howard missed Sunday’s game against the Grizzlies through rest but should be back to take on the Spurs here. Since the All-Star break, while they are 5-5 overall they do have a fairly dismal 2-8 record against the spread. It doesn’t help that they come into most games as favourites, however, so a change of pace coming in as the underdog here might help them.
The problem for the Hawks is they come up against arguably the hottest team in the NBA right now in the Spurs who will also have the home court advantage. The Spurs have gone 8-1 since the all star break, but have only managed a 3-6 record against the spread, meaning they like to keep games close. They sit just 1 game in the win column behind the Western Conference leading Warriors who are currently on the slide, but the Spurs have already lost 6 games at home this year which is a high number by their lofty standards.
With Dwight coming back into the fold and San Antonio battling some major health issues with LaMarcus Aldridge and Tony Parker already out and Kawhi Leonard questionable, I like the Hawks to cover here.
TIP: Atlanta Hawks +8 – $1.95 at William Hill
Los Angeles Lakers vs Denver Nuggets (1.30pm AEDT)
The Lakers will be on the 2nd night of a home back to back as they host the Nuggets on Tuesday. After a decent start to the season, the Lakers now find themselves with the 2nd worst record in the NBA and look to definitely be tanking from here on out. With a young core they’ll be happy to continue to build through the draft and hope they can add pieces through free agency and trade in the off season.
They come up against a Nuggets team who while similar in youth and inexperience, contrast in ambitions for the 2016-17 season. Currently sitting 8th in the West, they are in a tight battle for the last few playoff positions with the likes of Portland, Dallas and Minnesota. Big man Nikola Jokic has been arguably the find of the season and is all but a lock to win most improved player.
The Lakers are one of the worst teams in the league against the spread at just 28-35-2 on the season so far and on the 2nd night of a back to back, they should be worse for wear here against the Nuggets side that consistently puts up big totals.
TIP: Denver -11.5 - $1.95 at Sportsbet
Los Angeles Clippers at Utah Jazz (12pm AEDT)
Top of the table clash in the West here as 4th play 5th in the Jazz and Clippers. Utah leads LA by just one game in the standings so the Clips will take this as a massive opportunity to gain some ground and secure that all important home court advantage in the first round. With a fully clean bill of health in what seems like years, the Clippers and are 5-4 since the all-star break with tough losses it the Warriors, Rockets and Spurs mixed in. They are a much better side than their record suggests.
While the Jazz don’t have the superstar power of their Western Conference rivals, they do boast a roster that is solid through 1-10. A loss to OKC on Sunday snapped a four game win streak and they’ll be keen to start another one as they host the Clips before embarking on a 4 game Eastern Conference road trip.
Utah relies on their defence heavily to win games, so the majority of the time the margins whether they win or lose are low. This has resulted in them being the 3rd worst team against the spread in the NBA this season. This game should stay close so I like the Clippers getting 3.5 points here.
TIP: Los Angeles Clippers +3.5 - $1.95 at Sportsbet
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