Solid day in NBA betting tips on Thursday as Before You Bet and followers hit on 2/3 bets in the massive 12 game slate. Saturday in the NBA boasts another big 11 game slate, and as usual, we have a full preview and betting tips for the key games of the day below!
NBA Betting Tips Saturday January 25th
Boston Celtics at Orlando Magic (11am AEDT)
After a bit of a rough patch that saw them briefly drop out of the top four in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics have won their last two games on the trot, both good wins over the Lakers and Grizzlies at home, to move back into fourth place. They have a 29-14 record and will be on the road Saturday in Orlando.
The Magic have a 21-24 record through the first half of the season and currently sit in 7th place in the Eastern Conference. They suffered a tough home loss to the Thunder in their last clash and will be desperate to bounce back to stay in touch with the playoff race in the East.
The Celtics start as slight favourites on the road and we have to side with them here. Jaylen Brown should be back in the line-up for the Celtics after missing the game against the Grizzlies, and Boston are one of the strongest road teams against the spread in the league at 12-7-1.
Denver Nuggets at New Orleans Pelicans (12pm AEDT)
Rookie sensation Zion Williamson was quiet for the first three quarters of his debut game against the Spurs on Thursday, but he exploded to score 17 points in just a few minutes as the Pelicans eventually went down by four points. Williamson, and his workload, will be the story of the Pelicans season moving forward, and there should be plenty of value surrounding his stat lines in the next few games.
The Pelicans host the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, who sit in fourth place in the Western Conference with a 30-14 record and have won six of their last 10 games. They are solid on the road, with a 13-8 record straight up and 10-10-1 record against the spread.
The Nuggets deserve to be and will start as heavy favourites here, but we are looking towards Zion for value. He blitzed his point line in just a few fourth quarter minutes in Game 1, hitting four threes in a row. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Zion never hits four threes in a game for the rest of his career, he’s not known as a fantastic shooter and needed a miraculous run to clear his point line after a really sluggish looking start to the game.
The point line has stayed at 14.5, and with a minutes restriction still on the star forward and the likelihood of another hot streak from three pretty low, we like the under.
Williamson UNDER 14.5
$1.77
Los Angeles Clippers at Miami Heat (12pm AEDT)
The game of the day sees the Los Angeles Clippers travelling to Miami to take on the Heat. The Clippers currently sit in 3rd place in the Western Conference with a 31-14 record but are coming off a really disappointing loss to the Hawks in Atlanta. Both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George missed the game against the Hawks, but Leonard is expected to be back in the line-up for Saturday’s game.
The Heat are 31-13 this season and sit in second place in the eAstern Conference, they have won four of their last five, albeit against pretty average opponents and the clash against the Clippers will no doubt be their toughest test in the last few weeks. The Heat could be without a few key players, with Goran Dragic and Jimmy Butler both listed as game time decisions.
There’s no doubt Jimmy Butler, being the competitive beast htat he is, will want to suit up here and prove himself against Kawhi Leonard. The Heat have been one of the most dominant home teams in the league this season, maintaining a 20-1 record straight up and a 15-6 record against the spread at the American Airlines Arena. Back them to cover the spread here with a fired up Butler in the lineup.
